OHCHR | Feature stories

“We, heads of State and Government, … are committed to making the right to development a reality for everyone and to freeing the entire human race from want.”
UN Millennium Declaration

Development is a Human Right

Feature stories

Measuring human rights to support sustainable development
Traditional data collection has seldom been able to support inequality reduction policies to benefit the most vulnerable. A human rights-based approach to data can help States attain the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
8 April 2016

The right to development – development done right
Widening poverty gaps, food shortages, climate change, economic crises, armed conflicts, rising unemployment continue to confront our world.
1 March 2016

Towards 30 years of the right to development
The 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development “emphasizes the dignity of the human person,” said Craig Mokhiber, head of the Development and Economic and Social Issues Branch of the UN Human Rights Office.
4 December 2015

Greater ambition needed to improve financing for development
Financing for development is not dependent on money as much as it is on will, ambition and compassion. In a statement read on his behalf on the last day of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called on States, civil society, private business interests and others to seize the opportunity to provide freedom from fear and want to people across the world.
20 July 2015

New global development goals must fight inequality and discrimination
“To eradicate poverty, we must address inequality,” said UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay during a side event of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
13 February 2014

Towards a new development agenda fully grounded in human rights
People from all over the world are demanding that human rights principles be a central part of the new development agenda: the challenge of how to effectively integrate human rights is a debate among the international community.
14 January 2014

“Realizing the Right to Development” – a vision for transformative development
The UN Human Rights Office launches a publication, which clarifies the meaning and status of the right to development, and examines its principles, as they are applied to national development policies and governance as well as to the issues of aid, debt, trade, technology transfer, intellectual property, access to medicines, climate change and sustainable development.
24 December 2013

Freedom from fear and want, a sustainable development imperative
The new development framework that will replace the MDGs needs to address the full range of human rights, experts say.
11 July 2013

In difficult economic times, human rights should not be expendable
Human rights experts call on national and international financial institutions to integrate human rights considerations when trying to mitigate the impacts of financial and economic crises.
22 April 2013

Governance and accountability for global development post-2015
The final meeting of the Global Consultation on Governance and the Post-2015 Development Agenda identifies priority areas of governance and accountability for the framework that will replace the MDGs.
5 April 2013

The right to peace
An intergovernmental working group has begun what is expected to be a long and complex negotiation aimed at drafting a UN Declaration on the Right to Peace. A first report is to be presented to the June 2013 session of the Human Rights Council.
4 April 2013

The Human Rights Case Against Corruption
Implementing human rights is the most effective means to fight corruption, said UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay.
27 March 2013

Globalization – a paradox of perils and opportunities
The importance of people-centred development in an increasingly globalized world is the focus of this year’s Social Forum in Geneva.
10 October 2012

Rio+20 and human rights on social media: “The Future We Want”
On the occasion of Rio+20, the UN Human Rights Office launches a social media campaign inviting people to speak up for human rights in “The Future We Want.”
6 June 2012

Placing human rights and development at the centre of globalization
In an era of globalization, the UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay calls on UNCTAD XIII to ensure more participation, transparency and accountability in development.
11 May 2012

Wanted: Human Rights in Rio
Civil society and UN experts call for an inclusive, just and equitable outcome at the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development.
2 May 2012

People-centred Development: What the Arab Spring taught us
Economic growth without decent jobs, social inclusion and fair distribution of benefits is not true development.
27 March 2012

Putting people at the centre of development
At a panel discussion to mark the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, experts discuss ways to better integrate human rights in economics and development.
21 December 2011

Ban urges leaders to respond to people’s calls for right to development
Ban Ki-moon today urged leaders to respond to people’s calls for the right to build a better future.
2 December 2011

A new social contract needed to advance the realization of the right to development
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges the global community to negotiate a “new social contract”, to achieve the social, economic, cultural and political progress envisaged in the Declaration on the Right to Development.
22 November 2011

Time to make right to development a reality for all, UN officials stress
Top United Nations officials today stressed the need to make the right to development a reality for everyone, everywhere.
8 November 2011

Human rights in the trade arena
Taking a stand: The importance of incorporating human rights issues into international trade rules.
25 October 2011

Solidarity for a globally sustainable future
The multiple crises currently facing the world could best be addressed by fostering international solidarity, says UN independent expert.
19 October 2011

The right to development – who decides
The Social Forum of the Human Rights Council meets to explore many and varied views on the way forward in making the right to development a reality for all.
17 October 2011

A global partnership for the right to development
The Human Rights Council debates the way forward as the global community marks the 25th Anniversary of the UN Declaration of the Right to Development.
19 September 2011

Making the right to development a reality for all
A special UN panel held in Geneva focuses on the realization of the right to development and the achievement of a global partnership for development.
18 July 2011

Putting human rights into practice through development: the Ecuadorian experience
The Government of Ecuador adopts a human rights based approach to development planning.
31 May 2011

Human rights crucial for development
Human rights, including the right to development, are crucial for achieving inclusive, equitable and sustainable development in the Least Developed Countries
11 May 2011

Development is a human right for all
Seize the opportunity of the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development to make this right a reality for all, says High Commissioner Navi Pillay.
24 February 2011

Millions may lose access to necessary generic medicines
The Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India may threaten access to necessary generic medicines.
26 January 2011

Using numbers to achieve human rights goals
On World Statistics Day, UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay says data enables more effective promotion, monitoring and implementation of human rights standards.
20 October 2010

Human Rights and Trade
UN Human Rights Chief Navi Pillay calls for the international trade regime to incorporate all human rights.
28 September 2010

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