Development and security salient human rights

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first UN document specializing in the issue. Inspired by the Declaration, the international human rights cause has made great strides over the past six decades. The content of human rights also has been enriched. Development and security have gained increasing prominence in human rights since the beginning of the 21st century.

The theme of this forum is "Development, Security and Human Rights." The right to development is an inalienable human right. Every person and every country have the right to pursue development and enjoy its fruits. Today, dozens of least developed countries have yet to join the global development process; more than 1 billion people suffer persistent starvation and poverty; and 11 million children die before the age of five and 3 million people die of AIDS every year.

For these people, the right to development is of primary importance. Development is the central agenda for the overwhelming majority of developing countries and the biggest human rights problem facing the world today. That's because development lays the groundwork for the full realization of human rights. To advance other human rights, we should first of all realize the right to development, eliminate starvation and poverty and provide basic health care services. The worth, dignity and freedom of the human person cannot be realized in a state of starvation and poverty.