Plan International - Girls' Rights Platform - Girls' rights are human rights: Positioning girls at the heart of the international agenda

Also recalling that democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable governance in all sectors of society, as well as effective participation by civil society, are essential parts of the necessary foundation for the realization of social and people-centred sustainable development,

Expressing further concern that the Declaration on the Right to Development is insufficiently disseminated and should be taken into account, as appropriate, in bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes, national development strategies and policies and activities of international organizations,

Reaffirms the importance of the right to development for every human person and for all peoples in all countries, in particular the developing countries, as an integral part of fundamental human rights, as well as the potential contribution its realization could make to the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Recognizes that the Declaration on the Right to Development constitutes an integral link between the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action through its elaboration of a holistic vision integrating economic, social and cultural rights with civil and political rights;

Reiterates its commitment to implementing the results of the World Conference on Human Rights, which reaffirm that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and that democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing;

Requests the High Commissioner, within her mandate, to continue to take steps for the promotion, protection and realization of the right to development by, inter alia, drawing on the expertise of the funds, programmes and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system related to the field of development;

Requests the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-fourth session and the General Assembly at its fifty-third session of the activities of the organizations, funds, programmes and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system for the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, as well as obstacles identified by them to the realization of the right to development;

Encourages all States to address, within the declarations and programmes of action adopted by the relevant international conferences convened by the United Nations, the elements for the promotion and protection of the principles of the right to development as set out in the Declaration on the Right to Development;

Recalling that, in order to promote development, equal attention and urgent consideration should be given to the implementation, promotion and protection of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, and recognizing that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and that the universality, objectivity, impartiality and non-selectivity of the consideration of human rights issues must be ensured,

Recognizing that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has an important role to play in the promotion, protection and realization of the right to development, including through enhanced cooperation with the relevant bodies of the United Nations system for this purpose,

Democracy, which is spreading everywhere, has raised development expectations everywhere, that the non-fulfilment of those expectations risks rekindling non-democratic forces, and that structural reforms which do not take social realities into account could destabilize the processes of democratization;

Democracy, respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, transparent and accountable governance and administration in all sectors of society, and effective participation by civil society, are an essential part of the foundations necessary for the realization of social and people-centred sustainable development;

Urges all States to eliminate all obstacles to development at all levels by pursuing the promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, implementing comprehensive development programmes at the national level, integrating these rights into development activities and promoting effective international cooperation;

Requests the Commission on Human Rights: To invite the independent expert appointed by the Chairman of the Commission to include in his study on the current state of progress in the implementation of the right to development proposals for measures that could be taken for the more effective realization of the right to development at the national and international levels, and to submit his studies to the General Assembly;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to inform the Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly of the activities of the organizations, funds, programmes and specialized agencies of the United Nations system for the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, as well as obstacles identified by them to the realization of the right to development;

Welcomes the establishment of a follow-up mechanism, initially for a three-year period, in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1998/72, consisting of an open-ended working group of the Commission and an independent expert, in order to make further progress towards the realization of the right to development;

Calls upon the Commission on Human Rights to continue to make proposals to the General Assembly, through the Economic and Social Council, on the future course of action on the question, in particular on practical measures for the implementation and enhancement of the Declaration on the Right to Development, including comprehensive and effective measures to eliminate obstacles to its implementation;

[Calls upon the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as appropriate:] To undertake a dialogue with the World Bank with regard to the right to development, including initiatives, policies, programmes and activities that can promote the right to development, and to inform Member States on a regular basis of the progress made in such a dialogue;

[Calls upon the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as appropriate:] To involve relevant entities of the United Nations, such as those participating in the Executive Committee on Economic and Social Affairs, to promote and advocate the right to development and its realization, especially at the international level;

Guided by the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and expressing in particular the determination to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom as well as to employ international mechanisms for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

Recognizing that countries interact with the global economy from vastly different levels of development, and realizing that globalization affects all countries differently and makes them more susceptible to external developments, positive and negative, inter alia, in the field of human rights, in particular in the realization of the right to development,

Emphasizing that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has an important role to play in the promotion, protection and realization of the right to development, including through enhanced cooperation with the relevant bodies of the United Nations system for this purpose,

Expressing its concern that the Declaration on the Right to Development is insufficiently disseminated, and noting that it should be taken into account, as appropriate, in bilateral and multilateral cooperation programmes, national development strategies and policies and activities of international organizations,

[Also reaffirms that democracy, development and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, and in this context affirms that:] Effective popular participation is an essential component of successful and sustainable development;

[Reaffirms that, in the full realization of the right to development, inter alia:] Health is essential for sustainable development, and the Assembly calls upon all Governments to take reasonable legislative and other measures within their available resources to achieve the progressive realization of the right to health-care services and urges the international community to support the efforts of Governments in this regard;

[Reaffirms that, in the full realization of the right to development, inter alia:] Education is also an essential factor for the political, social, cultural and economic development of all people, and the Assembly recognizes that science and technology are important for ensuring growing levels of knowledge and must be put to use in the service of education;

Notes the efforts undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, within its mandate, with relevant entities of the United Nations system to promote the realization of the right to development, and stresses the need for the Office of the High Commissioner to keep Governments fully informed of and involve them in those initiatives, as appropriate;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution under the sub-item entitled “Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms”.

Considering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set out therein, without distinction of any kind, in particular as to race, colour or national origin,

Bearing in mind the situation of vulnerability in which migrants frequently find themselves, owing, inter alia, to their absence from their States of origin and to the difficulties they encounter because of differences of language, custom and culture, as well as the economic and social difficulties and obstacles for the return to their States of origin of migrants who are non-documented or in an irregular situation,