11-11-1999 - Human Rights Questions; the Right to Development - Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

New York

Permanent Mission address: 150 East 42 Street, Level 33, New York, New York 10017 - Telephone: 1 212 351 6600 - Fax: 1 212 351 6610

UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY 54TH SESSION

Third Committee - Item 116(b): Human Rights Questions; the Right to Development

Statement by Mr Andrew Goledzinowski, Counsellor

11 November 1999

Mr Chairman

We take the floor at an important time in the history of the right to development. When the Commission on Human Rights agreed last year to the establishment of an intergovernmental Working Group to advance the implementation of the right to development, we finally left behind the old augments about whether the right to development is a human right at all. The challenge now is to develop strategies and common understandings on the implementation of this important right.

Fortunately, some progress has already been made. At its 55th session, the Commission on Human Rights was able to arrive at a consensus resolution, to prepare the way for the first meeting of the Working Group. This was based on an understanding that the Working Group was the right place to consider different approaches and take practical decisions. Delegations were careful to avoid prejudging, or prejudicing, the eventual outcomes of the Working Group.

To help prepare for the scheduled meeting of the Working Group in September this year, Australia, with a number of other missions from different regional groups, helped to organise and finance an experts seminar which further broadened the debate. Diplomats were able to exchange ideas with development economists, NGOs, and international financial institutions - from the north and the south. The large number of colleagues who attended commented on the usefulness of tapping the practical experience of those working in the field. The seminar also highlighted the extent to which there was agreement on the main elements for the implementation of the right to development.

Unfortunately, the September session of the Working Group did not eventuate, but instead we had a fruitful and very positive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the Right to Development, Professor Sengupta, whose report has provided us with a useful basis for our work. Australia looks forward to continuing these discussions at the rescheduled December session. In the meantime, many of us have benefited from other meetings, including a seminar on human rights and development which took place here in the UN two weeks ago and another which will occur in Copenhagen immediately prior to the December meeting. One of the great strengths of this emerging process is the extent to which international organisations and institutions have begun to embrace the right to development. This is very important because these bodies are not just sources of expert knowledge on these issues. They are also actors in their own right, whose participation and cooperation is essential.

Mr Chairman

The right to development is being realised in many parts of the world. Poverty levels, life expectancy, literacy levels and political freedom have been increasing in absolute terms for many years. But these gains have not been evenly distributed. This is the challenge that the Working Group will need to address. It will not be easy, but we believe the time is right. In recent years, thinking has converged among states about the ingredients for successful development. Empirical research, by the World Bank and many others, has underpinned this emerging consensus. National leaders from virtually every state have addressed the need to promote an enabling environment in which development can take place. A return to the north-south debate of past decades is unlikely.

Our challenge is to translate this growing convergence of views into practical action in the UN context. It is true that there are still differences amongst us about what elements in the right to development should be emphasised. Some believe the focus should be on international cooperation, including the transfer of wealth and technology and the forgiveness of debt. For others, the key lies in domestic action, including sound economic and social policies, honest government, and strong institutions. The truth, of course, is that both elements are necessary. It will be up to the Working Group to determine the correct balance.

In the meantime, the deliberations of this General Assembly will, inevitably, set the tone for the re-scheduled first meeting of the Working Group. This should be a tone of partnership and cooperation. That way, our success will be their success. Otherwise, our failure may lead to their failure. The right to development has enormous symbolic importance, but we must not allow that to obscure its practical importance - it is a right which should unify rather than divide. Australia pledges itself to work closely with others to ensure that this spirit of partnership and cooperation prevails.