Time to turn vision into reality

Transition from theory to action has been slow and countries have to act together to guarantee everybody the right to development

Dec 4 marks the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development by the UN General Assembly. On this historic occasion, people all over the world, those in developing countries in particular, should pay tribute to those who have made great contributions to the recognition of this important human right.

Though the constituent elements of the right to development are embodied in the UN Charter and other UN human rights instruments, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, it was in 1972 that Judge Keba M'Baye of Senegal advocated that development should be regarded as a right. The UN General Assembly subsequently authorized a study on this issue in 1977.