OPENING STATEMENT By Ms. Kyung-wha Kang Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights THE NINTH SESSION OF THE OPEN-ENDED WORKING GROUP ON THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

18 August 2008

Mr. Chairperson,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am very pleased and honored to address the ninth session of the Open-ended Working Group on the Right to Development.

First of all, I would like to underline the importance of the progress made by the Working Group in recent years to maintain a sustained focus on the operational dimensions of the realization of the right to development through MDG8. Goal 8, with its focus on international cooperation, is a framework that is compatible with international responsibilities contained in the Declaration on the Right to Development. I believe that with its objective of developing criteria for the assessment of that Goal, this Working Group plays an important role in increasing accountability on both sides of development partnerships.

The consensus reached at the last session demonstrated the political will of the Member States to move the right to development from the realm of rhetoric to real practice. It was particularly important that this Working Group adopted a work plan consisting of three phases of implementation, covering the period from 2007 to 2009, which was endorsed subsequently by the Human Rights Council. The agreement has enabled the high-level task force to carry out its activities in implementation of Phase I of the work plan with clear directions and confidence and under the able leadership of its chairperson – Professor Stephen Marks. I should mention in this regard that the task force conducted technical missions to four global partnerships - as identified in MDG8 - to deepen understanding of their mechanisms and implementation and assess them in the light of the criteria adopted by the Working Group. The missions provided important opportunities for direct dialogue with the institutions involved in specific global partnerships for development.

In accordance with the work plan, the high-level task force continued to assess global partnerships on the basis of the findings of its technical missions, adopting concluding observations on three of the four partnerships. The task force also considered additional partnerships for review in Phase II of the work plan and revised the criteria on the basis of the assessments of partnerships as an intermediate step toward progressively developing and refining them. I understand that this morning the Chairperson of the task force presented the report of its fourth session, and the WG has begun consideration its conclusions and recommendations.

In this vein, I would also like to highlight the importance of the continued engagement of the institutional members of the task force in this ongoing process. The task force continues to benefit from its unique composition, including both independent experts and institutions which have a crucial role to play in the implementation of the right to development, such as the UNDP, UNCTAD, IMF and UNESCO. Let me take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the presence of the representatives of the institutional members and encourage them to continue to contribute to the implementation of the mandate of the task force and the promotion of the right to development in the context of global partnerships.

Mr. Chairperson, Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

With the same ideal combination of elements that came together during the meeting last year, namely: political will of Member States; expertise of distinguished experts and institutional members of the task force; and the organizations implementing and facilitating global partnerships, we are on the right track in the implementation of Phase II of the work plan.
On my part, I can assure you that the Secretariat is committed to continuing to provide a high level of support to this process.

Finally, let me also take this opportunity to congratulate Dr Arjun Sengupta for his new responsibilities as the Chairperson of the Working Group as this is the first opportunity for me to do so personally. I am confident that under his leadership this Working Group will build on the achievements of its past sessions and accomplish its tasks through constructive dialogue and in the spirit of global partnership. The task before you is a challenging one. But, I am confident that the WG will produce a consensus outcome, which will help all of us move forward in this process towards the further operationalization of the right to development.

May I wish you good luck and continued success in your deliberations.