JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
Nobody chooses their circumstances. However, a person will likely live decades longer, earn more, and have more means have a say in the decisions that shape their lives.
The UN considers the gap between the two children not only unfair, but also a violation of the right to development.
Since 1986, the UN has recognized development as not just economic growth, but as a human right that belongs to all of us.
This includes economic, social, cultural and political rights aimed at reducing inequality and creating a more just world.
According to World Inequality Report 2026supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the poorest half of the world’s people own only two percent of global wealth, while the richest 0.001 percent – namely the group of billionaires numbering around 56,000 people – have three times more wealth than the entire poor population.
This is precisely the “widening disparities within and between countries” reported by the UN human rights office (OHCHR) says the right to development exists to be confronted.
A technician installs solar panels at a UN-backed facility in Kassala in eastern Sudan.
‘Unalienable human rights’
That Declaration of the Right to Development (which is not a legally binding treaty) was approved by UN Member States in 1986 and describes “inalienable human rights” that enable everyone to “participate in, contribute to and enjoy” economic, social, cultural and political development.
Most importantly, this includes people’s sovereignty over their own wealth and natural resources.
A mother in Timor-Leste brought her three-month-old baby for routine childhood vaccinations.
Why is that important?
The right to development “is not a matter of charity, but of empowerment and empowering”, the UN says.
Over the past 80 years since the end of the Second World War, growth has been uneven and inequality, if not addressed, has fueled poverty, unrest, migration and distrust of institutions.
Key principles
- Community-centered development: “Humans” as subjects and beneficiaries of development
- Participation: Active, free and meaningful involvement in decision making
- Equity: Fair distribution of development benefits
- Non-discrimination: There are no exceptions based on “race, gender, language or religion”
- Self-determination: Communities must control their own resources
Do these principles really change lives?
If implemented correctly, these principles will benefit communities around the world.
In the MoroccoVocational training programs help women launch income-generating activities.
Indigenous community groups in Colombia has participated in the South American country’s peace treaty.
In the community in AfghanistanIndia and Palestinesociety has learned how to share resources fairly rather than compete for them.
Community members in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, work together to bring in a wheat harvest.
What happens if development leaves the community behind?
The impact on society is equally real.
In the KenyaThe Endorois tribe, a community of about 60,000 people who have lived around Lake Bogoria for centuries, were not involved in the decision to turn their land into a nature reserve. Absent consultation and denied a fair share of the reserves’ benefits, they lost the grazing land that provided their livelihood, and large numbers of their livestock died.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, developing countries have had more limited access to vaccines.
A UN official commented that “more than 600,000 deaths could be prevented if all countries were able to achieve the World Health Organization’s vaccination targets by the end of 2021. This failure is tragic and deeply immoral.”
The obstacle? Disagreements between countries regarding binding obligations, weak international cooperation, and a lack of political will hinder the right to development.
People in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, queue to get vaccinated against COVID-19 during the global pandemic in 2021.
How relevant is this today?
Perhaps more relevant than ever.
Climate shocks, conflict and immigration are global crises that overlap and contribute to worsening poverty and inequality.
A fairer development system could help reverse that trend.
Why is the UN now focusing on this issue?
It has been 40 years since the UN approved the treaty in 1986 Declaration of the Right to Development.
Member States will meet on September 23 at the United Nations in New York to renew the global commitment to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to live a life of dignity, opportunity and hope.
The meeting will bring together world leaders to reflect on progress made over the past four decades and discuss how countries can work together to reduce poverty, expand opportunity and address the disparities that continue to prevent millions of people from gaining the full benefits of economic and social development.
