International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Luwellyn Landers on Thursday participated in a High-level Meeting to mark the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development.
This declaration was adopted through the landmark UN General Assembly resolution 41/128 of 1986. The rationale behind the UN Declaration on the Right to Development is to create conducive conditions at the national, regional and international levels to ensure the constant improvement to the quality of life of people everywhere.
“Sadly, not much progress has been registered in terms of the realisation of the objectives of the declaration,” said Deputy Minister Landers when he delivered South Africa’s statement during the meeting held on the sidelines of the General Debate of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Deputy Minister Landers stressed, however, that the right to development is indispensable. He said it is intrinsically linked to the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, which are essential in ensuring the enhancement of the quality of life of those afflicted by extreme poverty.
“The notion of the right to development is therefore central and underpins the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other internationally agreed development goals.”
However, one of the major concerns and key challenges is the absence of consensus on the means of implementation for the attainment of these goals and development.
“We require a paradigm shift from posturing and the apparent lack of political will to take concrete steps for the commitment of the requisite resources at all levels necessary to the achievement of these goals,” said Deputy Minister Landers.
The South African Constitution internalises the letter and spirit of the UN Bill of Rights, as contained in Chapter 2 of the UN Charter. Economic, social and cultural rights, in the South African national context, are a legitimate subject of litigation in courts of law, said the Deputy Minister.
He said South Africa’s national position on the right to development has inspired and confirmed the notion of justiciability and the progressive realisation at the level of the UN human rights system.
“We believe fully in the General Recommendations 9 and 12 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,” said the Deputy Minister.
International cooperation is an obligation by all States in terms of the Charter of the United Nations. This principle of international law is paramount to the realisation of the right to development. States are duty-bound to ensure that their collective actions contribute to an enabling international environment for development.
However, Deputy Minister Landers raised concern that the growing practice of using human rights as a conditionality for development cooperation contradicts the principle of international cooperation and is an undue impediment to the realisation of the right to development.
“States should refrain from this practice. South Africa reiterates the collective position of the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement taken in Havana, Cuba, in September 2006 for the UN human rights system to elaborate a Convention on the Right to Development as a matter of urgency, necessity and priority,” said the Deputy Minister.
He said South Africa strongly believes that the corporate sector has a responsibility and an obligation to invest in social development, particularly in those countries where they have business activities. Such investments would significantly contribute to the mobilisation of local resources which are necessary for the realisation of the right to development.
Source: South African Government News Agency