The Right to Development, proclaimed in the Declaration on the Right to Development, adopted in 1986 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in its resolution 41/128, is recognised as an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized. The human right to development also implies the full realization of the right of peoples to self-determination, which includes, subject to the relevant provisions of both International Covenants on Human Rights, the exercise of their inalienable right to full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources. Under the Declaration, “States have the primary responsibility for the creation of national and international conditions favourable to the realization of the right to development” (Article 3). According to the high-level task force on the implementation of the right to development “the responsibility for the creation of this enabling environment encompasses three main levels: (a) States acting collectively in global and regional partnerships (second preambular paragraph and Article 3); (b) States acting individually as they adopt and implement policies that affect persons not strictly within their jurisdiction (Article 4); and (c) States acting individually as they formulate national development policies and programmes affecting persons within their jurisdiction (Article 2).”
Non-Aligned Movement has accorded great importance to the Right to Development. The final outcome document of the NAM Summit in Kampala, Uganda, in 2024 called on the Member States of the Movement to promote and protect all universally recognized human rights, in particular the right to development as a universal and inalienable right and as an integral part of all universally recognized human right.
The significance of the Right to Development for NAM was reiterated by Mina Gurhan, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Uganda, on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), on the Report of the Chair of the Working Group and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, within the framework of the Third Committee of the General Assembly of the United Nations on October 27, 2025.
Gurhan stated that over three decades have passed since the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, which is, as agreed in 1986, an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural, and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized. It was recognized at that time that the human person is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary of the right to development. However, the NAM representative highlighted that for ensuring its full enjoyment and realization, profound reforms of the international economic structure, and the international financial architecture, including the creation of economic and social conditions that are favourable to developing countries, are still needed.
NAM also urged the UN human rights machinery to ensure the operationalization of the right to development as a priority, including through the elaboration of a Covenant on the Right to Development by the relevant machinery, taking into account the recommendations of relevant initiatives.
The Non-Aligned Movement reaffirmed its commitment to the promotion and protection of all universally recognized human rights, in particular the Right to Development as a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, as reaffirmed at the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on September 22, 2016. In this context, the Movement urged the UN human rights machinery to prioritise the operationalization of the Right to Development, including through the elaboration of a Covenant on the Right to Development, taking into account relevant recommendations. It further proposed the convening of a one-day High-Level General Assembly meeting in 2026 to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Declaration.
