Right to development: A blueprint for unmet promises

What you need to know:

• The declaration broke new ground in the universal struggle for greater human dignity, freedom, equality and justice when the UN General Assembly adopted it in 1986
• The declaration can help provide guardrails on issues from AI to internet access, as well as accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 
• A legally binding treaty on the right to development has been in the works since 2018

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What is the declaration?

Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986, it makes access to development an inalienable right.

While a legally binding treaty has been in the works since 2018, the declaration states that everyone is “entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realised”. 

The declaration unequivocally puts people at the centre of the development process. 

Read the full declaration here.

‘A call to action’

UN Secretary-General António Guterres told world leaders the declaration’s anniversary is more than a moment of reflection, “It is a call to action.”

For millions around the world, promises made in the declaration remain unfulfilled, “yet we know how to make it real,” he said, pointing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that “provide the blueprint to leave no one behind”.

Under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the 17 SDGs contain goals and targets that are lifting people out of poverty and protecting their rights.

Progress since the declaration’s adoption has been driven by the foresight, dedication and resilience of countries, communities and activists of all ages, he said.

Extreme poverty has fallen dramatically, nearly half the world is now covered by some form of social protection, people are living longer and scientific and technological advances have transformed lives and livelihoods and expanded opportunity, he noted. 

New tests await

But today, the promise of development faces new tests, Mr. Guterres said, from widening inequalities and persistent food insecurity to rising debt, conflicts and economic instability that are impeding development and economic growth.

In addition, the climate crisis is reaching devastating new levels each year, reminding the world that there can be no development on a degraded and unhealthy planet.

While the digital revolution and artificial intelligence hold enormous potential to improve lives, these frontline technologies can also be drivers of exclusion and division.

“The declaration unequivocally establishes development as a right and puts people at the centre of the development process,” he said.

“Development, human rights and peace are not separate ambitions. They advance together. In today’s divided world, this vision can still unite us, and the Sustainable Development Goals are the roadmap to get us there.”

Read our explainer on the right to development here.

What does people-centred development look like?

UN agencies have long integrated human rights into projects around the world.

The right to development extends to people enduring humanitarian crises and beyond – from war zones to disaster recovery.

Here’s what putting people first means:

• Colombia: Indigenous Peoples’ groups have participated in the South American country’s peace accords
• Gaza: Women engineers are turning e-waste into opportunity
• Nepal: Lethal floods in August wiped out communities that are now recovering and rebuilding better, with support from UN agencies 
• Morocco: Vocational-training programmes are helping women launch income-generating activities in Morocco
• South Sudan: UN peacekeepers built a reservoir to accommodate communities that had been fighting over scarce water resources
• Venezuela: UN agencies partnered to respond to deadly twin earthquakes in June