Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development Concludes Fourteenth Session
The Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development this afternoon concluded its fourteenth session after wrapping up its general debate, holding a coordination meeting with other United Nations mechanisms on the right to development, and announcing its conclusions.
Closing the session, Juana María Ibanez Rivas, Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism, said the Expert Mechanism took note of the exchanges and contributions made during the session. These deliberations would inform the conclusions and recommendations contained in the Expert Mechanism's annual report. It would also brief on the thematic studies of the Expert Mechanism. The Expert Mechanism noted that discussions during the session highlighted the continued relevance of the right to development in addressing contemporary challenges and identified a range of obstacles to its realisation, and noted the broad recognition of the right to development as a human right grounded in the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights.
After the conclusions were read out by the members of the Expert Mechanism, a representative of APG23 took the floor.
In the general debate, speakers said the Expert Mechanism must ensure a more systematic implementation of the right to development, including in conflict resolution and peace-building situations. The right to development required all to participate and benefit without discrimination: an integrated approach, based on human rights, must be adopted. One item remained crucial: how to ensure that development was not just a goal, but a right exercised by each person and each people, and particular attention must be paid to women, children, displaced persons and communities facing long-term instability.
Speaking in the general debate were International Observatory for Peace, Democracy and Human Rights Geneva, Centre-Europe Tiers Monde, Shaanxi Voluntary Patriotic Association, Southeast Asia Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression Caucus, Manushya Foundation, Indian Council of South America, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Amina Ben Sahi, a development expert, and International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations.
In the coordination meeting with other United Nations mechanisms on the right to development, speakers appreciated the efforts of the United Nations mechanisms in the realisation of the right to development in line with their mandates: they were making valuable contributions towards promoting awareness of the right and strengthening and supporting its realisation. Today’s complex global reality required an international response: the right to development was an imperative for human-centred global progress, and United Nations entities must move beyond siloed work towards genuine integration, with a shared mandate across global mandates.
Speaking in the coordination meeting were Zamir Akram, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the Right to Development, and Expert Mechanism Experts Brian Keane, Ramona Biholar and Serges Alain Djoyou Kamga.
Also speaking was the representative of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
The following non-governmental organizations also took the floor: APG23, Arab Council Supporting Fair Trials and Human Rights, and the Indian Council of South America.
The Expert Mechanism on the Right to the Development is a subsidiary body of the Human Rights Council, established in 2019 under resolution 42/23. It provides the Council with thematic expertise on the right to development in searching for, identifying and sharing best practices with Member States and promotes the implementation of the right to development worldwide.
Summaries of the public meetings of the fourteenth session of the Expert Mechanism can be found here, while webcasts can be found here. The programme of work of the Expert Mechanism’s fourteenth session and other documents related to the session can be found here.
The fifteenth session of the Expert Mechanism will take place in New York from 27 to 29 April 2027.
General Debate
In the general debate, which started on 26 October, speakers hailed the work of the Expert Mechanism on the fortieth anniversary of the Declaration of the Right to Development. One item remained crucial: how to ensure that development was not just a goal, but a right exercised by each person and each people. When structural inequalities remained and some communities were excluded from decisions affecting them, and young people were without prospects, then societies were fractured, causing instability. An integrated approach, based on human rights, must be adopted. Particular attention must be paid to women, children, displaced persons and communities facing long-term instability. The Mechanism must ensure a more systematic implementation of the right to development, including in conflict resolution and peace-building situations.
Peace was not an absence of war: the structural causes of conflict must be addressed; wealth must be distributed and international cooperation established on the basis of good faith. All Member States must shoulder their responsibilities collectively, and take measures nationally and internationally to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas, which would mean achieving the right to development in the context of the right to determine one’s own rural development model. The right to development required all to participate and benefit without discrimination.
JUANA MARIA IBÁÑEZ RIVAS, Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism, responding to these questions and statements, said the Expert Mechanism took the participation of all very seriously, and all comments related to the various thematic studies and panels would be taken into account in its report, particularly regarding peace, security and the right to development. The right to development was a human right with a two-fold dimension, at the intersection of economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights, and was based on participation. Good practices would be established for the benefit of peoples and countries.
Coordination Meeting with Other United Nations Mechanisms on the Right to Development
ZAMIR AKRAM, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Inter-governmental Working Group on the Right to Development, said the twenty-seventh session of the Working Group took place in Geneva in May 2026. Despite the ongoing budgetary situation, the Working Group managed to discuss some critical areas pending on its agenda in a reduced session of four working days. It held an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right to development and with the Chair of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development.
Discussions were held on coercive measures, in particular unilateral ones, and on illicit financial flows, with a focus on tax-related ones. It also considered the areas of climate justice. The Working Group adopted its decisions by consensus. It recommended that the High Commissioner work to pay attention to the indivisibility, effective implementation, and mainstreaming of the right to development by undertaking tangible projects related to that right, and include in the next report on the right to development a section on the challenges to be overcome to achieve the right to development. There was ample opportunity for cooperation between the various United Nations mechanisms on the right to development, without overlaps and in respect of the individual mandates, and to assess progress in the achievement of the right to development, notably in supporting the early adoption of the draft Covenant on the Right to Development.
BRIAN KEANE, Expert Mechanism Member, said the three mechanisms were complementary and each complemented the others’ work. Each contribution was helpful in the next phase of the development of the mandate, providing a forum for States and civil society to contribute, including towards the draft Covenant.
RAMONA BIHOLAR, Expert Mechanism Member, welcomed the focus on the duty to cooperate to address the structural inequalities that existed within and among nations to work towards creating an international environment that was enabling development. Attention to peace and disarmament was urgent, and the focus on the climate was also vital, in particular for climate-vulnerable countries. Meaningful international cooperation helped to support recovery whilst protecting the resources needed to ensure human rights and lives lived in dignity. The budgetary situation remained of great concern to all bodies.
SERGES ALAIN DJOYOU KAMGA, Expert Mechanism Member, said having common goals would aid in achieving the right to development in the context of a human-centred process. Climate justice, illicit financial flows, peace and security and other areas that were really fundamental to addressing the right to development questions could not be ignored. The views of States, international organizations, national human rights institutions and other stakeholders must be integrated in the work done by the Expert Mechanism.
In the discussion, speakers said the efforts of the United Nations mechanisms in the realisation of the right to development in line with their mandates were appreciated: they were making valuable contributions towards promoting awareness of the right and strengthening and supporting its realisation. The realisation of the right was essential both for human development and for the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights. Effective international cooperation was a prerequisite for the full achievement of the right to development and the enjoyment of all human rights.
The draft Covenant on the Right to Development should be adopted, as it would provide a helpful framework for bridging gaps, strengthening accountability and aiding in translating the provisions of the Covenant into effective action. Today’s complex global reality required an international response: the right to development was an imperative for human-centred global progress, and United Nations entities must move beyond siloed work towards genuine integration, with a shared mandate across global mandates.
Conclusions of the Session
JUANA MARIA IBÁÑEZ RIVAS, Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism, closing the session with the formal adoption of the conclusions of the session as agreed on by the members of the Expert Mechanism, said the Expert Mechanism took note of the exchanges and contributions made during the session. These deliberations would inform the conclusions and recommendations contained in the Expert Mechanism's annual report. The report would also brief on the thematic studies of the Expert Mechanism. The Expert Mechanism noted that discussions during the session highlighted the continued relevance of the right to development in addressing contemporary challenges and identified a range of obstacles to its realisation, and noted the broad recognition of the right to development as a human right grounded in the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights.
SERGES ALAIN DJOHYOU KAMGA, Expert Mechanism Member, said the Expert Mechanism noted broad agreement that the realisation of the right to development required adequate resources and that illicit financial flows constituted a major obstacle to its implementation, draining resources needed for public services and development. The right to development should not only be viewed as adversely affected by illicit financial flows but also as part of the solution, through the principles of meaningful participation, non-discrimination, self-determination and equitable distribution of benefits.
XIAOHUI LIANG, Expert Mechanism Member, said the Mechanism held three focused thematic discussions under its programme of work and expressed its appreciation to all panellists and participants for their contributions. Participants stressed the importance of meaningful stakeholder engagement and of integrating human rights considerations throughout business operations and value chains, and called for approaches that promoted partnership, capacity-building and access to remedy.
RAMONA BIHOLAR, Expert Mechanism Member, said the Expert Mechanism encouraged States to translate recognition of the rights to food and development into coherent public policies and effective institutional mechanisms to integrate social protection, school feeding, public food procurement and sustainable rural development. These measures should include securing equitable access to land, water, seeds, credit, technology and technical assistance and should prioritise those people who were confronted with the greatest barriers, particularly smallholder farmers, women, young people, indigenous peoples and rural communities.
BRIAN KEANE, Expert Mechanism Member, said in the panel on indigenous peoples and the right to development, the Expert Mechanism noted the importance of grounding the realisation of the right to development for indigenous peoples in self-determination. The fortieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development served as a timely reminder of the continued relevance of its principles and of the need to intensify efforts to translate them into practice.
Speakers thanked the Expert Mechanism for the session, which had been very enriching, particularly with regard to the thematic studies, the completion of which would help with the understanding of the right to development. Development could not thrive amidst structural inequalities and conflict: it was an inalienable human right essential for achieving global justice and the 2030 Agenda. The world must move past the sterile political divides that threatened human lives, and ensure meaningful participation for all people, especially the most vulnerable.
JUANA MARIA IBÁÑEZ RIVAS, Chairperson of the Expert Mechanism, closing the session, thanked all delegates and participants for their active participation during the three-day session.
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