On the 5th of December the Australian International Agency for International Development (ACFID) and the United Nations Information Centre Canberra organised an event to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development.
The event “ The Right to Development at 25” was officiated by Ms Julia Newton-Howes — CEO of CARE Australia and Vice President of ACFID.
The first speaker was Ms Matilda Bogner, Regional Representative for the High Commissioner for Human Rights who spoke about the work that the OHCHR has been undertaking to raise the profile of the 25th anniversary of the Declaration in order to make people aware of its relevance in today’s world.
Ms Bogner stressed that the Declaration’s words are clear - that development is a human right for all - and that “real development is about freedom from fear and freedom from want for all without discrimination.”
She also quoted Secretary- General Ban ki-moon when he said “ In 2011, 25 years after the Declaration, we see a world with great disparities in wealth, which is a failure to realise the aspirations of the Declaration. There are almost three billion people living in poverty and 20% of the world’s people hold 70% of its total income”.
“On paper, the Declaration lived. In practice, it languished. Economic growth and material wealth were mistaken for true development. Visible, accountable hands in government ceded too much to the invisible, unreliable hands of the market. Human rights were too often subverted for financial gain. Our environment was sacrificed for the economy. Lavish luxury fed off of deplorable want”.
Ms Bogner, based in Fiji, then went on to talk about the Pacific, “The challenges in the Pacific reflect those that are debated all over the world- there are challenges at the national level to ensure responsible government that is accountable to its people. While at the same time, there are challenges in creating an enabling international environment, where among other things systems of aid, trade and debt are fair and don’t place small island states and least developed countries in a situation where it is difficult to ensure that the population can enjoy their economic, social, cultural, political and civil rights”.
She ended by saying that she hoped that the day’s discussion will help all to reflect further on the roles we play in promoting the right to development and will also help us to explore in more depth what it actually means for the work that we do - how we can encourage stronger national commitment and fairer international systems to ensure the well-being of all in Australia, in the Pacific, in the broader region and globally.
The next speaker was Mr Robin Davies, First Assistant Director General, International Programs and Partnerships Division at AusAID, the department that oversees the Australian government’s aid program. Mr Davies said that the Australian Government’s commitment to the MDGs ensures that the Human Rights of recipients are protected.
The final speaker was Mr Matthew Tukaki the Australia’s Representative to the United Nations Global Compact. Mr Tukaki spoke about the four core Principle areas of United Nations Global Compact initiative: Anti-Corruption, the Environment, Human Rights and Labour.
He talked about Global Compact in Australia and its membership which he noted is made up of a diverse range of organisations from large corporates such as ANZ, Rio Tinto, Westpac, Nestle, Woolworths and KPMG, through to small and medium sized business.
He said that more and more businesses in Australia were working towards ensuring that human rights were not subverted for financial gain. He also stated that as the Australian Representative to the UN Global compact it was important to get this message out, and he was committed to making this happen.
The event was attended by non-government organisations, diplomats, government and youth groups. It was kindly hosted by the Baha’i community at their centre in Weston, Canberra.
Photo: Ms Julia Newton Howes at podium, seated on stage – L-R Ms Matilda Bogner, Mr Matthew Tukaki and Mr Robin Davies