51ÁÔÆæ

Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Dear colleagues,

Thank you for joining this 40th Anniversary Commemoration of the Declaration on the Right to Development.

For me, this is also a deeply personal occasion. I was there, 40 years ago, during the 41st session of the General Assembly, when this Declaration was adopted.

I remember that occasion. I remember the spirit of that moment; the sense, particularly among those furthest behind, that their voices had been heard; that their concerns could no longer be ignored; and that the vast disparity between developed and developing countries were note peripheral to this Assembly’s work, but central to it.

Forty years later, here we are, and the core message of that Declaration remains as powerful- and as necessary- as ever: that every person, that all peoples, have the right to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy development. Development is not merely about economic growth. It is a comprehensive economic, social, cultural and political process. It is about the constant improvement of human well-being through people’s active, free and meaningful participation, and through the fair distribution of its benefits. At its heart, the Declaration affirms a simple truth: people must remain at the centre of development, as its participants, its beneficiaries and its authors.

Excellencies,

The decades that ensued saw, what is perhaps, the greatest leap in human development in history.

Global life expectancy has increased by nearly a decade. The likelihood of a child dying before their fifth birthday has fallen by 60 per cent. And the likelihood of that child going to school has risen. Some 1.5 billion people have escaped extreme poverty. And a technology that did not even exist when this Declaration was adopted now connects more than five billion human beings.

Each of these figures represents something far more meaningful than a statistical gain or a simple number: a child lives longer and thrives; a young person learns; a family enjoys greater security; and a community gains new possibilities.

Yet, for all our successes, and there have been many and this organization has been central to that, we also know that progress has been uneven, across regions, within societies, and across development goals themselves. Indeed, only 36 per cent of the 139 SDG targets are on track or making moderate progress.

Many countries continue to face structural barriers, financing constraints, unsustainable debt burdens, and unequal participation in global decision-making.

And forty years after declaring development a right, far too many of these rights – to education, to food, to a job – depend on factors beyond a person’s control… determined by geography, by gender, by environmental conditions.

So, as we mark this anniversary, our task cannot simply be to celebrate the progress of the past forty years. We must also reflect honestly on what those forty years have taught us, and act on those lessons.

Excellencies,

The first lesson is that development must be inclusive.

The Declaration does not speak of passive beneficiaries. It speaks of participants and contributors. Development cannot be delivered to people from above. It must be shaped with them, and it must empower the very people it aimed to support.

That means ensuring that women and young people, marginalised communities and those furthest behind have a meaningful voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

And it means addressing the structural obstacles and historical and contemporary inequities that continue to constrain progress: unequal access to finance, technology and markets; limited fiscal space; and immense debt burdens, that continue to constrain Governments’ ability to invest in their people.

To be clear, closing the financing gap for sustainable development is not a peripheral concern. It is fundamental to empowering communities and thereby fulfilling the right to development.

This is why the second pillar of my Presidency is clear: No One Left Behind, No Country Left Out.

We must restore faith in multilateralism by ensuring that it delivers for those who have too often been excluded from its benefits.

The second lesson is that development is indivisible. It cannot be separated from human rights, from environmental concerns, nor from peace and security.

We see this today in countries where conflict wipes away decades of development in a matter of months; where human rights abuses undermine public confidence in justice and jeopardize social cohesion; and where debt burdens force Governments to choose between servicing debt and investing in their people.

These relationships also work in the other direction.

When development gains falter or erode, when people lose access to decent work, education, food, and healthcare, to name a few –the social contract begins to tear. Frustration grows. Trust weakens. Insecurity and instability deepen, which in turn places human rights under serious and increasing pressure.

The architects of the Charter understood this interplay and it is for this very reason that this document, our foundation, is built on these three supportive pillars: peace and security, development, and human rights. None can endure without the others.

And the third lesson is that our understanding of development must evolve as our world evolves.

The reality is that the world today is not as it was in 1986, when the declaration was adopted. Indeed, few could have imagined the digital world we inhabit today, or the speed at which artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are now transforming economies, societies and institutions.

These technologies offer extraordinary opportunities to improve social services, expand access to quality education, create new jobs and help accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.

But opportunity does not guarantee equity. The digital divide remains vast: while 68 per cent of the world’s population used the Internet in 2024, 2.6 billion people remained offline.

The respect, protection and promotion of human rights, including the protection of children from AI-related harms, together with safety, transparency, accountability and meaningful human oversight, are essential considerations throughout the AI life cycle.

Excellencies, Mr. Secretary-General,

And friends,

The right to development, in the years to come, will hinge on our ability to capitalize on and leverage these powerful new technologies, all the while mitigating their risks, which are many.

That is why “Innovation with Inclusion” is one of the priorities of my Presidency. We must bridge digital divides, build capacity in developing countries, and ensure that the governance of new technologies is inclusive, transparent, participatory, and grounded in human rights and human security.

Every country should have the opportunity not merely to consume the technologies of the future, but to help shape them.

Excellencies,

Forty years ago, this Assembly elevated the notion of development from an aspiration to a right. There is power in these words. A right creates duties. It demands accountability. It requires that we measure progress not only by aggregate growth, but by whether people can live with dignity, exercise their rights and shape their own futures.

Today, let us honour the Declaration not only through commemoration, but through implementation. Let us protect the hard-won gains of the past four decades. Let us address the inequalities and structural barriers that persist. Let us make multilateralism more representative, more responsive, and more capable of delivering for all. The world has changed profoundly since 1986. Our commitment to the right to development must not. I thank you.