GENEVA, Oct 13 (APP): The U.N. Human Rights Council has voted to adopt by a wide margin a draft covenant on the right to development as a human right that puts people at the centre of the development process.
Diplomatic observers here regard the move, which was led by former Pakistan Ambassador Zamir Akram, as a “significant success” for the Pakistani diplomacy.
Ambassador Zamir Akram is currently the chair of the Geneva-based Council’s Working Group on the Right to Development.
Under terms of the Council’s resolution, it decided to submit to the U.N. General Assembly the draft international covenant on the right to development for its consideration and subsequent adoption.
The vote in the 47-member Council was 29 in favour to 13 against, with 5 abstentions.
“This pioneering achievement marks a major milestone towards promoting the right to development after almost 40 years of intergovernmental deliberations,” an expert said.
The resolution also expressed its appreciation of the leadership of Ambassador Akram, the Chair of the Working Group.
The right to development as a human right has been pursued by developing countries, in keeping with the UN charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for over the past four decades, to ensure that the right to development is recognized as a part of all human rights that are indivisible, interrelated and interdependent.
However, the acceptance of this right has so far been opposed by the developed countries, leading to a stalemate on the issue.
In 2018, the Human Rights Council mandated the Chair of the Working Group, Ambassador Akram, to draft a legally binding treaty on the right to development. A draft text was presented to the Council in its May 2023 session by Ambassador Akram and adopted by it on Thursday.