United Nations Welcome to the United Nations. It's your world.

Statement by H.E. Mr. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh during the High-level Segment to Commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development

Thursday, 22 September 2016
Presenter: 
H.E. Mr. Ilyas Moussa Dawaleh
Location: 
United Nations, New York

STATEMENT BY

H. E. MR. ILYAS MOUSSA DAWALEH

   MINISTER OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE

BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

DURING THE

HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT TO COMMEMORATE THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DECLARATION ON THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT

 

22 SEPTEMBER 2016

 

 

                                                                                                                               

President of the General Assembly

Secretary General

High Commissioner for Human Rights

Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development,

 

At the outset, Djibouti aligns itself with the statement by Venezuela, on behalf of the Joint Coordination Committee, comprising Member States of the NAM and the Group of 77 & China.

My delegation is honored and privileged to be in your midst sharing this important moment to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development.  We applaud the initiative to hold this high-level segment and we would like to seize this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the impressive work undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner since the adoption of the Vienna Declaration in 1993 in which States consolidated the international consensus about the existence and importance of implementing the Right To Development.

We equally value the significant contribution of the High-Level Task Force on the implantation of the Right To Development, in particular for the development of the set criteria and sub-criteria as well as the important work by follow-up mechanisms and organs.

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the Right To Development all stakeholders including Member States, the United Nations system, and specialized agencies, programs and funds as well as the international finance and trade institutions are duty-bound to reaffirm our commitment to collectively realize the Right To Development.

 

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Since the adoption of this crucial document 30 years ago, we have achieved significant progress –we all have collectively defined the main attributes of this core norm as a comprehensive and human centered policy, particularly Human Rights processes and social justice in development-.

Judge Bedjaoui justly characterized the Right to Development as the “alpha and omega of all rights”.

We all generally accepted and embraced the idea that Agenda 2030 for SDGs are child of the Declaration on Right to Development”. We must also recognize that some of the controversies that linger on negatively impact progress in the implementation and coordination of the Right To Development in a legally binding document – Moreover, as developing countries still wrestle with so many challenges, progress towards the common realization of the Right to Development remains frustratingly slow.  The sluggishness of the global economic crisis, low commodity prices and an insufficiently regulated globalization, mainly have hampered efforts towards realization of the Right to Development.

Africa, in particular, has collectively shown great resolve to realize the Right to Development of our people as reflected in the comprehensive blue print it has elaborated Including Agenda 2063 and the Africa We Want of the African Union and the 10 year implementation (2014-2023).

Tangible progress has been made on many fronts, including infrastructure development thanks to all the support of traditional and new partners.

But major challenges remain, as highlighted in the biannual report of the Secretary General on the review of the implementation of the commitments towards Africa’s development. Therefore, as noted in this report, a timely fulfillment of commitment remains critical for Africa to implement the 2030 Agenda and its continental framework for “development, peace and security”.

 

Thank you for your attention.