SOUTHNEWS
No. 127, 30 September 2016
SOUTHNEWS
is a service of the South Centre to provide information and news on
topical issues from a South perspective.
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UN Human Rights Council creates position of Special Rapporteur
on the Right to Development
By
Adriano José Timossi
Marking
the commemorations of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the
Declaration on the Right to Development, the Human Rights Council
approved a resolution (A/HRC/33/L.29) to establish the position of
a Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development. This decision
reaffirms the value of the right to development as one of the key
instruments in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and other internationally agreed outcomes of 2015. Below
is a report on the session which adopted the resolution.
The
commemorations of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to
Development by the UN General Assembly 30 years ago gained a new momentum
on 29 September 2016, with the adoption by the Human Rights Council
of a resolution (A/HRC/33/L.29) which established a mandate for a
Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development. The draft of the resolution
was presented by Venezuela on behalf of the member states of the Non-aligned
Movement and China, and was adopted by a vote of 34 in favour, two
against and 11 abstentions.
The Council decided to appoint, for a period of three years, a Special
Rapporteur on the right to development, whose mandate will include:
- To
contribute to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right
to development in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development and other internationally agreed outcomes of 2015.
- To
engage and support efforts to mainstream the right to development
among various United Nations bodies, development agencies, international
development, financial and trade institutions, and to submit proposals
aimed at strengthening the revitalized global partnership for sustainable
development from the perspective of the right to development.
- To
contribute to the work of the Working Group with a view to supporting
the accomplishment of its overall mandate, taking into account,
inter alia, the deliberations and recommendations of the Working
Group while avoiding any duplication.
- To
submit any specific study by the Human Rights Council in accordance
with its mandate.
- To
submit an annual report to the Human Rights Council and to the General
Assembly covering all activities relating to the mandate.\r\n
In
his remarks introducing the draft proposal, Ambassador Mr. Jorge
Valero (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), on behalf of the Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM), recalled that in the Vienna Declaration and Programme
of Action on the Right to Development, the Council committed to elevate
the right to development to the same level as other human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
“The Right to Development means to build societies where human dimension,
social justice and equality and freedom prevail on Mother Earth… to
overcome asymmetries that exist in the international system and to
achieve juridical equality of states, and where demands for collective
happiness are satisfied,” he said.
“The mandate of Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development will
contribute to the work of the Working Group in the accomplishment
of this important mandate,” he further stated. The mandate holder
in its work will be complementary and will not duplicate or overlap
with the work of the Working Group, he emphasized.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, Mr. Ajit
Kumar, added India’s support to the draft resolution, while also
congratulating Venezuela for assuming office as the Chair of the Non-Aligned
Movement and the Islamic Republic of Iran for its able leadership
of the NAM in the past four years.
Ambassador Kumar said that the resolution was a “clear expression
of the strong commitment of Member States to reinvigorate and advance
the discussions on the Right to Development within the Council and
its mechanisms.”
“Regrettably, even after 30 years of the adoption of the UN Declaration
on the Right to Development and 17 years of Working Group meetings,
the right to development remains a distant reality,” he said. “There
is an urgent need to infuse new energy and purpose to deliberations
of the Working Group so that it can fulfill its mandate in a time
bound manner. Any argument in favour of the status quo would be highly
unjustifiable,” he stated. The ambassador reaffirmed the support of
his country to “proposals that aim to overcome existing obstacles
and consider new ways to take the Working Group deliberations to the
next level.”
Speaking on the value of the new mandate holder in the context of
the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, Ambassador Kumar
highlighted that “SDGs are universal and equally applicable to all
countries, big and small, rich or poor, developed and developing.
The Right to Development can provide a balanced, comprehensive and
enabling framework to strengthen the global partnership to achieve
these ambitious goals in a sustainable manner while promoting all
human rights for all.” He stressed that “the fresh perspective and
expertise that a Special Rapporteur can bring will greatly contribute
to elaborating such a framework while complementing the work of the
Working Group without duplicating mandates.”
The establishment of the new special procedure mandate on the right
to development is a befitting way to accord the priority, attention
and resources that realization of this fundamental right deserves.
He concluded in urging all Member States to “shun any reservations
they may have and extend their full support to the resolution”.
South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in
Geneva, Ambassador Nozipho Joyce Mxakato-Diseko, speaking on behalf
of the African Group expressed the support of the African continent
for the draft resolution proposed by NAM and China. Ambassador Mxakato-Diseko
underscored that 2016 was a crucial year for the start of the implementation
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
“We cannot talk about the promotion and protection of human rights
without addressing the challenges of poverty, underdevelopment and
inequality, which continue to impact developing countries negatively,”
she stressed.
The African Group underscored the need for a strong commitment by
Member States of the UN and all relevant programmes, funds and agencies
to work together for the full realization of the Right to Development.
The African Group also recalled the need to mainstream the right to
development in the policies and operational activities of the UN and
its specialized agencies, programmes and funds. She concluded that
“the right to development is about the constant improvement of the
quality of life for all peoples everywhere.”
Ambassador Anayansi Rodríguez Camejo, Permanent Representative
of Cuba stressed that the Right to Development remains one of
the highest priorities of developing countries.
While expressing strong support for the proposals contained in the
draft resolution, in particular the creation of a special rapporteur,
she stressed that “it will be crucial to ensure all material support
and human resources necessary for the new mandate holder to perform
their duties on an equal footing with other procedures and contribute
to the work of the Working Group on the Right to Development, as has
been proposed”, she stated.
“Far from seeing this new process as a waste of resources or unnecessary
duplication, as alleged by some developed countries, we should see
it as a new hope for millions of people around the world and to the
goal of achieving an enabling international environment for development,
in which all countries, without distinction or interference, may define
their own models and policies, consistent with their conditions and
realities”, Ambassador Camejo added.
[Just a few days ago at the high-level meeting to mark the 30th anniversary
of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, in
New York, Cuban Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno said: \"The
right to development cannot continue to be denied among the family
of human rights or its true priority be disregarded. Similarly, the
use of technicalities to hamper the setting up of a Convention on
the Right to Development that paves the way to its materialization
should end”].
However, Slovenia, speaking on behalf of the European Union, opposed
the creation of another mechanism that “would duplicate efforts”.
EU was also not in favour of an international legal standard of a
binding nature, to which the draft resolution has a reference. The
EU said that “diverging views remained and a common position had not
been reached so far”, and concluded that the EU would not be able
to support the resolution.
The United Kingdom, speaking in an explanation of the vote said “that
the primary responsibility for ensuring that the right to development
was realized was owed to citizens by States”. The UK is also against
an international legal standard of a binding nature. The Human
Rights Council agenda was already overloaded and the appointment of
a Special Rapporteur would detract from more pressing items, the delegate
said. The United Kingdom, a member of the Council, called for
a vote on the text and would vote no, “despite its support for the
right to development”, the delegate concluded.
The 47 members of the Human Rights Council voted as follows:
In favour (34): Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Botswana, Burundi,
China, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia,
Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia,
Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russian
Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Togo, United Arab Emirates,
Venezuela, and Viet Nam.
Against (2): France, and United Kingdom.
Abstentions (11): Albania, Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Latvia,
Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, and
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
A/HRC/33/L.29
paragraphs 14, 15 and 16
14. Also decides to appoint, for a period of three years, a
Special Rapporteur on the right to development, whose mandate will
include:
(a)
To contribute to the promotion, protection and fulfilment of the right
to development in the context of the coherent and integrated implementation
of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other internationally
agreed outcomes of 2015, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster
Risk Reduction, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International
Conference on Financing for Development and the Paris Agreement on
Climate Change, and to this effect, participate in relevant international
meetings and conferences;
(b)
To engage and support efforts to mainstream the right to development
among various United Nations bodies, development agencies, international
development, financial and trade institutions, and to submit proposals
aimed at strengthening the revitalized global partnership for sustainable
development from the perspective of the right to development;
(c)
To contribute to the work of the Working Group with a view to supporting
the accomplishment of its overall mandate, taking into account, inter
alia, the deliberations and recommendations of the Working Group while
avoiding any duplication;
(d)
To submit any specific study by the Human Rights Council in accordance
with its mandate;
(e)
To submit an annual report to the Human Rights Council and to the
General Assembly covering all activities relating to the mandate,
with a view to maximizing the benefits of the reporting process;
15. Invites all Governments to cooperate fully with the
Special Rapporteur in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated
and to give due consideration to the recommendations of the mandate
holder;
16. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner
to provide the Special Rapporteur with the administrative, logistical
and staff support necessary for the implementation of the mandate
under the present resolution;
Source: A/HRC/33/L.29, 27 September 2016. Oral Revisions of 29 September
2016.
Related links
The Human Rights Council, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the
adoption of the resolution on the right to development held a Panel
on 15 June 2016. The panel discussion was opened by the President
of the Human Rights Council Mr. Choi Kyonglim and the Opening Address
was given by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Mr. Zeid Ra’ad
Al Hussein. Among the panel speakers was South Centre Executive Director
Mr. Martin Khor. Other speakers were Ms. Flavia Piovesan (Secretary
for Human Rights, Brazil), Jamaica’s Ambassador Mr. Wayne McCook and
Dr. Mihir Kanade (University for Peace in Costa Rica). The Chairman
was Egypt’s Ambassador Mr. Amr Ramadan. The webcast of the Panel
Discussion on the Right to Development - 7th Meeting 32nd Regular
Session of Human Rights Council is available here:http://webtv.un.org/%20http:/www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/archive.html/watch/panel-discussion-on-the-right-to-development-7th-meeting-32nd-regular-session-of-human-rights-council/4941910901001#full-text
The South Centre prepared a special edition of its South Bulletin
on the Human Rights Council panel session of 15 June 2016.
SOUTH BULLETIN 93, 16 AUGUST 2016
The Right to Development at 30: Looking Back and Forwards is
available here:https://www.southcentre.int/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SB93_EN.pdf
High-Level Segment on the Right to Development. On 22 September
2016, the President of the UN General Assembly convened a one-day
high-level segment, in the margins of the general debate of the UN
General Assembly at its seventy-first session, to commemorate the
30th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development. The
opening session of the High-level thematic debate featured special
addresses by Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the United Nations General
Assembly and Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. It
also had speeches by Mr. Zeid Ra\'ad AI Hussein, United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights and Mr. Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary-General
of UNCTAD. See more details at: http://www.un.org/pga/71/tag/right-to-development/
Adriano
José Timossi is a Senior Programme Officer of the Global Governance
for Development Programme (GGDP)at the South Centre.
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