{"id":289109,"date":"2026-09-14T14:26:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T18:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/81\/?p=289109"},"modified":"2026-09-16T17:20:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T21:20:53","slug":"high-level-meeting-40th-anniversary-declaration-on-the-right-to-development","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/81\/2026\/09\/14\/high-level-meeting-40th-anniversary-declaration-on-the-right-to-development\/","title":{"rendered":"High-level Meeting to Commemorate the 40th Anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Forty years since the General Assembly proclaimed that the right to development is an inalienable human right.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday 23 September 2026, in the margins of the general debate, the General Assembly holds a one-day high-level segment to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development. The President of the General Assembly opens the meeting.<\/p>\n
The Declaration, adopted on 4 December 1986, set out a vision of development centred on the human person. The commemoration is an occasion for Member States to take stock of four decades of the right to development and to consider how it can be translated into measurable progress.<\/p>\n
I will lend full support to the high-level meetings to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the fortieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development.<\/p>\n
The General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development in resolution 41\/128<\/a> of 4 December 1986, by 146 votes to 1, with 8 abstentions.<\/p> Its second article places people at the centre: “The human person is the central subject of development and should be the active participant and beneficiary of the right to development.” According to the concept note for the commemoration, the Declaration’s principles “have informed global development agendas, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.<\/p> The right is followed up within the human rights system by the Working Group on the Right to Development, the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development and a Special Rapporteur on the right to development. In 2023 the Human Rights Council transmitted to the General Assembly a draft international covenant on the right to development “for its consideration, negotiation and subsequent adoption” (Council resolution 54\/18, recalled in resolution 80\/207).<\/p><\/div>\n “The right to development is 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.”<\/p>Declaration on the Right to Development, article 1, paragraph 1<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n “Decides to convene a one-day high-level segment of the General Assembly, in the margins of the general debate of the Assembly at its eighty-first session, in order to commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development;”<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n Sources: A\/RES\/41\/128<\/a> · A\/RES\/79\/170<\/a> · A\/RES\/80\/207<\/a> · Concept note<\/a> · Audiovisual Library of International Law<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The concept note frames the commemoration around five guiding questions:<\/p> Time limits are enforced by automatic microphone cut-off.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Documents for the meeting, most recent first. The letters were issued by the President of the General Assembly at the eightieth session, whose Office prepared the meeting; new documents are added here as they are issued.<\/p><\/div>\n Inscription on the list of speakers is through the e-deleGATE portal<\/a>. The list opened on 17 August and closes on Wednesday 16 September 2026.<\/p><\/div><\/details> Registration for representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, open for in-person attendance by up to two representatives each, closed on 10 September 2026. Enquiries: ngobranch@un.org<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/details><\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The meeting is webcast on 爆料网 Web TV in all official languages of the United Nations. The President’s statement and the outcome of the meeting will be posted on this page once issued.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n The 81st Session will be rich with milestone events that will test our collective resolve — from addressing the existential threats of sea-level rise, to pandemic preparedness, to commemorating the Right to Development at forty, nuclear disarmament, and the Durban legacy at twenty-five. Each is more than a date on a calendar. Each is an opportunity to demonstrate that multilateralism can deliver concrete results.<\/p>\n H.E. Dr. Khalilur Rahman<\/p>\n Vision statement<\/p>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Paragraph 51<\/div><\/div>How the meeting runs<\/h2>\n
\nDocuments<\/h2>\n
\nTake part<\/h2>\n
\nMember States and observers<\/summary>
Non-governmental organizations<\/summary>
Watch<\/h2>\n
\nHigh-Level Week<\/h2>\n
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