Human Rights Council

Thirty-third session

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 29 September 2016

33/14.The right todevelopment

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling the Charter of the United Nations and the core human rightsinstruments,

ReaffirmingtheDeclarationontheRighttoDevelopment,adoptedbytheGeneral Assembly in its resolution 41/128 of 4 December1986,

Reiterating the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which reaffirms the right to development as a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of every human right,

ReaffirmingHumanRightsCouncilresolutions4/4of30March2007and9/3 of 17 September 2008, and recalling all Counciland GeneralAssemblyresolutionsontherighttodevelopment,themostrecentbeingCouncil resolution 30/28 of 2 October2015 and Assembly resolution 70/155 of 17 December 2015,

Recalling all Commission on Human Rights resolutions on the right to development, including resolutions 1998/72 of 22 April 1998 and 2004/7 of 13 April 2004 in support of the implementation of the right to development,

Welcomingthe seventeenth Summit of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held on Margarita Island, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, on 17 and 18 September 2016, and recalling previous summits and conferences at which the States members of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries stressed the need to operationalize the right to development as a priority, including through the elaboration of a convention on the right to development by the relevant machinery, taking into account the recommendations of relevant initiatives,

Emphasizing the urgent need to make the right to development a reality for everyone,

Emphasizing alsothatallhumanrightsandfundamentalfreedoms,includingthe right to development, can only be enjoyed in an inclusive and collaborative frameworkat the international, regional and national levels, and in this regard underlining theimportance ofengagingtheUnitedNationssystem,includingUnitedNations specialized agencies,funds andprogrammes, within their respective mandates, relevant internationalorganizations, including financial and trade organizations, and relevant stakeholders, includingcivil society organizations, development practitioners, human rights experts and the public atall levels, in discussions on the right todevelopment,

Stressing that the responsibility for managing worldwide economic and social issues and threats to international peace and security must be shared among the nations of the world and should be exercised multilaterally, and that, in this regard, the central role must be played by the United Nations as the most universal and representative organization in the world,

Welcoming the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment, and emphasizing that the 2030 Agenda is informed by the Declaration on the Right to Development and that the right to development provides a vital enabling environment for the full realization of the Sustainable Development Goals,

Recognizing that achieving the internationally agreed development goals,including the unmet Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals,requires effective policy coherence andcoordination,

Recognizing alsothat hunger andextremepoverty, in all its forms and dimensions, arethegreatestglobal challenges and require the collective commitment of the international community for theireradication,andthereforecallingupontheinternationalcommunitytocontributeto the achievement of that goal, in accordance with the Sustainable DevelopmentGoals,

Emphasizing that all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the rightto development, are universal, indivisible, interdependent andinterrelated,

Underlining that the successful implementation of the Sustainable Development Goalswillrequirethestrengtheningofanew,moreequitableandsustainablenationaland international order, and the promotion and protection of all human rightsand fundamentalfreedoms,

Taking note of the commitment declared by a number of United Nationsspecialized agencies, funds and programmes and other international organizations to make the rightto developmentarealityforall,andinthisregardurgingallrelevantbodiesoftheUnited Nations system and other international organizations to mainstream the right to development into their objectives, policies, programmes and operational activities, and into development and development-related processes, including the follow-up tothe Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least DevelopedCountries,

Stressing the primary responsibility of States for the creation of nationaland international conditions favourable to the realization of the right todevelopment,

Recognizing that Member States should cooperate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating lasting obstacles to development, that theinternational community should promote effective international cooperation, in particularglobal partnerships for development, for the realization of the right to development andthe elimination of obstacles to development, and that lasting progress towardsthe implementation of the right to development requires effective development policies atthe national level, equitable economic relations and a favourableeconomic environment at the internationallevel,

EncouragingallMemberStatesto engageconstructivelyinthediscussionsforthe full implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development with a viewto overcoming the existing political impasse within the Working Group on the Rightto Development,

Affirmingthat the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Rightto Development presents a unique opportunity for the international community todemonstrate and reiterate its unequivocal commitment to the right to development, recognizing thehigh profile it deserves, and redoubling its efforts to implement thisright,

Stressing that, in General Assembly resolution 48/141 of 20 December 1993,the AssemblydecidedthattheresponsibilityoftheUnitedNationsHighCommissionerfor Human Rights shall be, among others, to promote and protect the realization of the right to development and to enhance support from relevant bodies of the United Nations system for that purpose,

Recognizing the need for independent perspectives and expert advice to strengthen the work of the Working Group on the Right to Development and to support the efforts of Member States to realize fully the right to development, including in the context of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals,

Reaffirming Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1, on institution-building of the Council, and 5/2, on the Code of Conduct for special procedure mandate holders of the Council, of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge the duties of the mandate in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,

1.Takes note of the consolidated report of the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the right todevelopment;

2.Requests the High Commissioner to continue to submit to the Human Rights Council an annual report on the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner, including on inter-agency coordination within the United Nations system that have direct relevance to the realization of the right to development, and to provide an analysis of its implementation, taking into account existing challenges and making recommendations on how to overcome them, in his next annual report;

3.Urges the High Commissioner to pursue his efforts, in fulfilment of his mandated responsibility, to enhance support for the promotion and protection of the realization of the right to development, taking as reference the Declaration on the Right to Development, all resolutions of the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council on the right to development, and agreed conclusions and recommendations of the WorkingGroup;

4.Requests the Office of the High Commissioner, in the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, to take sufficient measures to ensure balanced and visible allocation of resources and due attention to ensure the visibility of the right to development by identifying and implementing tangible projects dedicated to the right to development, and to provide regular updates to the Human Rights Council in thisregard;

5.Recognizes the need for renewed efforts towards intensifying deliberations in the Working Group to fulfil, at the earliest, its mandate as established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 1998/72 and the Human Rights Council in its resolution4/4;

6.Acknowledges the need to strive for greater acceptance, operationalization and realization of the right to development at the international level, while urging all States to undertake at the national level the necessary policy formulation and to institute the measures required for the implementation of the right to development as an integral part of all human rights and fundamentalfreedoms;

7.Welcomes the celebrations held in 2016 to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, including the convening of the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming, with the theme “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and human rights, with an emphasis on the right to development” at the thirty-first session of the Human Rights Council, the panel discussion on the promotion and protection of the right to development at the thirty-second session of the Council and the high-level segment of the General Assembly to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, held at the seventy-first session of the Assembly, which provided a unique opportunity to Member States to demonstrate and reiterate their political commitment, accord the right to development the great attention it deserves and to redouble their efforts towards the realization of the right to development;

8.Also w elcomes the report of the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Right to Development on the seventeenth session of the Working Group;

9.Further w elcomes the re-election of the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group and the skill with which he led the discussions at the seventeenth session;

10.N ote sthe presentation to the Working Group at its seventeenth session of the set of standards for the implementation of the right to development prepared by the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group, which is a useful basis for further deliberations on the implementation and realization of the right to development;

11.Requests the Working Group to continue to consider criteria and operational subcriteria with a view to finalizing the text as expeditiously as possible, preferably no later than its nineteenth session;

12.Requests the High Commissioner to facilitate the participation of experts in the eighteenth session of the Working Group, to provide advice with a view to contributing to discussions on the implementation and realization of the right to development, including the implications of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and looks forward to the possible engagement of the Working Group with the high-level political forum;

13.Decides:

(a)To continue to act to ensure that its agenda promotes and advances sustainable development and the achievement of the remaining Millennium Development Goals and of the Sustainable Development Goals, and in this regard lead to raising the right to development, as set out in paragraphs 5 and 10 of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, to the same level and on a par with all other human rights and fundamental freedoms;

(b)To endorse the recommendations of the Working Group adopted at its seventeenth session;

(c)That the Working Group, taking into account Human Rights Council resolution 9/3, shall finalize consideration of the criteria and operational subcriteria, preferably no later than the nineteenth session of the Working Group, in relation to the elaboration of a comprehensive and coherent set of standards for the implementation of the right to development, and shall also take appropriate steps to ensure respect for the practical application of these standards, which could take various forms, including guidelines on the implementation of the right to development, and evolve into a basis for consideration of an international legal standard of a binding nature, through a collaborative process of engagement;

14.Also d ecides 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 engage with Member States and other stakeholders and 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 requested 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, including by providing all necessary information requested, 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;

17.Encourages relevant bodies of the United Nations system, within their respective mandates, including United Nations specialized agencies, funds and programmes, relevant international organizations, including the World Trade Organization and relevant stakeholders, including civil society organizations, to give due consideration to the right to development in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to contribute further to the work of the Working Group, and to cooperate with the High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur in the fulfilment of their mandates with regard to the implementation of the right todevelopment;

18.Decides to review the progress of the implementation of the present resolution, as a matter of priority, at its futuresessions.

39th meeting

29 September 2016

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 34 to 2, with 11 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Algeria, Bangladesh, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), 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 (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam

Against:

France, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Abstaining:

Albania, Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Latvia, Netherlands, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]