President,
Norway is committed to the Right to Development, and we welcome all efforts made to bring the Right to Development from a purely academic exercise to operational criteria for implementation. We would like to use this opportunity to give a few comments on the reports of the Working Group.
First, we welcome the efforts both by the Working Group itself and by its High-level Task Force. Studying the report carefully, we are indeed impressed by the great number of states which took active part in the deliberations, bringing a broad range of perspectives to the table. It is imperative that common ground is found, through political will. And the starting point for consensus must be the Declaration itself.
Second, Norway would like to stress the potential of the right to development to serve as means to balance national responsibility and international cooperation. It could be argued that there are enough resources in the world. They are, however, not distributed equitably. We need fairer and more equitable distribution of wealth between countries and within countries. As stated in the Rio Outcome document, innovative financing can be seen as one of several mechanisms that can help us to promote sustainable development.
Third, we wish to highlight the role of women’s rights and gender equality in the development process. On this point, there is room for strengthening the present set of sub-criteria and indicators. As concluded in the World Development Report: Greater gender equality will improve development outcomes, enhance productivity and make institutions more representative. Gender equality is smart economics and a key to the promotion of the right to development. And finally,
President,
For Norway, the operationalization of the right to development implies mainstreaming human rights into the development process in a way that will strengthen the capacity of states to ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights.
Thank you!