Opening remarks by Mr. Bacre Ndiaye at the OIC - NAM roundtable: The Right to Development: Constraints and Perspectives

19 October 2011

Your Excellency Ambassador Badr,
Your Excellency Ambassador Chikh,
Director-General Tokayev,
Excellencies, distinguished panellists,
Ladies and gentlemen

On behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, I wish to welcome you all. At the outset, allow me to thank the Permanent Delegation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement for organizing this important and timely roundtable.

This year we are commemorating the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development. The contours of this right were shaped with contributions from great jurists from countries of both the Non-aligned Movement and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, including my own countryman, Kéba Mbaye, Mohammed Bedjaoui from Algeria and Georges Abi-Saab from Egypt.

Their vision as translated into the Declaration is what we have sought to reinforce throughout this anniversary year. The anniversary has provided an opportunity for a renewed approach and pioneering initiatives such as the joint statements by the UN agencies and Chairpersons of United Nations Treaty Bodies as well as the ECOSOC substantive session devoted to the right to development. Yet, another unprecedented event will soon take place in New York: I am pleased to inform you that the High Commissioner will chair a meeting on 8 November to which the President of the General Assembly and the Chairs of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Committees are being invited. The SG Ban Ki-moon and the president of the General Assembly just confirmed that they will attend. We hope that this event will provide an opportunity for Member States to work together to find ways to advance policy coherence in the implementation of the right to development and global partnership for its realization.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlement,

As we come closer to the actual day when 25 years ago the General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development, on 4 December 1986, and to the end of this anniversary year, we can already observe some of the key messages that were repeatedly underlined in the events held to date.

I may say that they echoed the four key-messages of the High Commissioner for this anniversary year. They are:

One: The right to development is a human right. A cet égard, relisons l’article 27 de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme.
Two: This right belongs to everyone, without discrimination;
Three: The right to development is as relevant today as it was on the day the Declaration was adopted and it responds to contemporary challenges; les notions de responsabilité commune, de solidarité, de partage et d’échange équitables sont au cœur des défis du 21ème siècle, au cœur de la notion de démocratie mondiale que prêchait déjà le 8 décembre 1960 à la tribune des Nations Unies à New York, M. Mamadou Dia, alors Président du Conseil du Gouvernement du Sénégal
Four: We must act together in a coherent manner in order to realize the right to development.

There is a need to promote truly global partnership for development through increased and meaningful dialogue and cooperation with the right to development at its centre. An effective global partnership for development, underpinned by human rights-based policy coherence and coordination at all levels, is the best foundation for realizing the right to development and the MDGs.

There is a strong call for policy coherence and coordination, shared responsibility and mutual accountability, including in the contemporary context of multiple global crises, widespread popular unrest, and the overarching reality of globalization and interdependence. Indeed it is important to ensure policy coherence from the right to development perspective and to make sure that human rights impact assessments of policies and bilateral, regional and
international agreements are made and their findings taken into consideration in decision-making

And Governments alone will not meet this challenge. The role of civil society is important in advocating that all human rights, including the right to development, are fully integrated in development programmes and policies at all levels. Civil society can and must play and important role in identifying the challenges and obstacles at the local, national, regional and international levels to the realization of the right to development.

Making the right to development a reality for everyone cannot be achieved without overcoming the long political and polarized debate on the right to development; mobilizing support from a wide public constituency for the realization of the right to development; and seeing international organizations fully integrating all human rights, including the right to development, into their work.

In conclusion, let me assure you of the dedicated efforts and commitment of the High Commissioner and our Office in advancing the implementation of the right to development and our full support to the work of the Working Group on the Right to Development.

I am looking forward to a fruitful and interesting debate, and hope that the outcome of this roundtable will be a further step in advancing the right to development in concrete and practical ways.

I thank you for your attention.