Time to turn vision into reality

Nowadays, human rights activists like to talk about Internet freedom, but a large portion of the world's population have no access to the Internet, and there is a growing digital divide between people in industrialized countries and developing countries. For example, the Internet access rate in Asia is only 23.8 percent, significantly lagging behind the 58.3 percent in Europe. Internet freedom is important, but to enjoy this right, one should first of all have access to the Web. Therefore, the most urgent task is to bridge the digital gap and make computers and the Internet available for the majority of the world's population.

Promoting and protecting the right to development has become a more important and pressing task than ever. So how can the universal right to development be fulfilled?

First, the right to development should be recognized at both the national and global levels. Development is a universal right. Certain Western countries should get rid of their ideological prejudices and put an end to the politicization in the debate on the right to development, so as to reach a consensus on this.

Second, every state should create favorable conditions to realize the right to development. All countries, the developed and developing ones alike, need to concentrate on development and formulate appropriate national policies for the constant improvement of the well-being of their citizens. To achieve this goal, maintaining social stability is very important, as history has repeatedly shown that stability and development go hand in hand.

Third, effective international cooperation is essential. In an interdependent world, only when all nations shake off poverty and the South and the North achieve even development, can there be common prosperity. Concerted efforts should be made to attain the Millennium Development Goals. Developed countries should honor their commitment to official development assistance, open markets, debt relief, and the transfer of advanced technologies to developing countries.

Actions speak louder than words. It is time for the international community to act together and make the right to development a reality for all.

The author is a Beijing-based scholar of international relations.

(China Daily 12/03/2011 page5)