The Declaration on the Right to Development as a First Step towards a Comprehensive Southern Vision on Human Rights

Having proper sanitation and hygiene, access to affordable health care and enough food on the table are the basic conditions for a dignified life. This link between human dignity and the right to development was made very persuasively already in the White Paper on human rights, issued by the State Council of P.R.C. in 1991. The Declaration on the right to development can be considered the first successful joint action undertaken by Southern states in the area of human rights. The Declaration was based on Southern scholarship, such as the pioneering research conducted by the Senegalese jurist Kéba M’baye. And its adoption was the result of joint stage management performed by diplomats from different continents. Therefore the Declaration serves as a source of inspiration for the work of drafting a Comprehensive Southern Vision on human rights. The Vision document will lay out a common Southern outlook on human rights issues as an elaboration of the Universal Declaration.

Scientific Approach to Development and Human Rights

The Third Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in October 2003 put forward a scientific approach of people-centered, all-round, coordinated and sustainable development and made it a strategy for governing the country, putting it in command of all economic and social development. Since reform and opening up in 1978, China has persisted in the central task of economic development and put development in the first place. The evolution of the concept ＂development is the hard truth＂ to ＂development is a task of first importance in governing the country and invigorating the Chinese nation＂ and to the establishment of the scientific development approach reflects the deepening and growing command of the laws governing China＇s economic and social development.

Conflict and Balance Between the Right to Development and Environmental Rights:China's Practice

The right to development,the realization of which is subject to environmental rights,is an inalienable human right The principle of sustainable development is based on the right to development but is a development path designed to protect the environment The fact that environmental rights are not expressly stipulated in international human rights law does not deny its attribute as a human right Therefore,environmental rights and the right to development are equally important,conducive to the realization of human sustainable development through the protection of environmental rights In order to solve the contradiction between economic development and environmental protection in China,it is necessary to earnestly implement the Scientific Outlook on Development under strict judicial control in accordance with the law and to fully protect the public's rights to know concerning environmental information,and encouraging the public's participation in environmental decision-making

Protecting the Rights of Disabled Persons——From the Perspective of Protecting Their Right to Development with Affirmative Action as the Core

Establishing and protecting the right to development of disabled persons is not only the important part of Xi Jinping’s thought on human rights, but also a reflection of Marxism’s idea of human rights and a requirement of the rule of law in China. It is necessary to promote the protection of the right to development of disabled persons in terms of affirmative action. The Chinese government’s affirmative action requires structural characteristics, including providing the institutional basis for the affirmative action by constructing legal and non-legal institutions, providing an environment conducive for the affirmative action by shaping a more aware social ecology and providing valid guarantees for affirmative action by increasing the responsibility of local governments.

Interplay of Human Rights and Development: The Implementation and Guarantee of Development after the Victory of the World War Ⅱ

Poverty affects social development and justice. It also deeply affects the realization of human rights, inclucing the right to development. The present unjust international order cannot solve poverty by means of human rights. Many developed countries avoid their obligation of dealing with poverty, denying the general realization and actionability of economic, social and development rights. Due to the position of these countries in the issues of human rights and development, many regions of the world were falling into the extremely poor state. The efforts by the United Nations are discounted in promoting the development and fighting against the poverty.

Realization of the Right to Development: Prospects for Drafting a Convention on the Right to Development

Near 30 years after the adoption of the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development, understanding of this Right still differs from one political group to another. The South stresses issues such as inequalities in the international financial system, greater participation of developing countries in global decision-making on economic policy, and promoting a fairer trade regime. The North persists on apt domestic conditions in developing countries such as rule of law, good governance, democracy and responsible economic management. And while the NonAligned Movement calls for an international legal standard of a binding nature, the European Union is opposed to such an upgrade of the Declaration. In fact, drafting a Framework Convention on the Right to Development seems to be the best option for accommodating the concerns of the different political groups, as it allows for a step-by-step approach. A framework convention is a treaty under international law: such a treaty is open to States, and once it has entered into force, it is binding on States that have expressed consent. The potential added value of a Framework Convention on the Right to Development is to balance the current human rights regime with a treaty that goes beyond individual State responsibility and takes inspiration from principles derived from international development efforts, such as mutual accountability, alignment of policies among partner countries, and inclusive partnerships.

Following the Charter of the United Nations: The Basic Guarantee for the Realization of the Right to Development——From the Perspective of Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

This study discusses the basic guarantee of the Charter of the United Nations to realize the right to development from the angle of Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The concepts regarding the people as the focal point, the dignity, the worth of the human being, as well as larger aspects of freedom, and other basic concepts within the Charter of the United Nations, guide the right direction of action for the realization of the right to development. The purpose and principles of the United Nations establishment in the Charter constitute the basic legal protection of the right to development. Values of peace, international dialogue, and international cooperation show the right path to the realization of the right to development.

President Xi's Congratulatory Letter to the “International Symposium on the 30^(th) Anniversary of the Adoption of the UN Declaration on the Right to Development”

On the occasion of the 30thanniversary of the adoption of the United Nations’ Declaration on the Right to Development,representatives from various countries have gathered in Beijing to attend the "Sharing the Development:Create More Benefits

The Conflict and the Balance between the Right to Development and the Right to the Environment——Perspective and Reflection Based on China

The right to development and the right to the environment are both third generation rights, closely related to human development and world peace. For developing countries, there is a de facto conflict between the right to development and the right to the environment, which leads to serious consequences. To coordinate development and the environment, developing countries should shift their pattern of development, take the path of sustainable development and realize environmental protection and ecological balance while promoting economic growth.

The Contribution of the Belt and Road Initiative to the World's Right to Development

The Belt and Road Initiative makes an important contribution to the right to development in theory and practice in the current world. Since the reform and opening-up, the Chinese government puts the rights to subsistence and development before any other human rights, which effectively guarantees and accelerates a rapid economic development in China. Nowadays, countries along the Belt and Road have joined a "community of common destiny". Inside the "community of common destiny," countries have enjoyed not only the responsibility, rights and benefit of the right to development, but also a win-win cooperation that ensured the right to development. Therefore, the Belt and Road initiative enriches the UN Declaration on the Right to Development, and "community of common destiny" of countries becomes a higher form of the right to development.

“Women Hold up Half the Sky”: Engendering the Right to Development

Societal institutions and structures shape particular experiences of socio-economic disadvantage for women.It is not enough to simply extend a fixed bundle of socio-economic rights to women and men alike, but to infuse such rights with substantive equality. Based on discussing the link between the right to development and socio-economic rights, I discuss how gender inequality shapes particular experiences of socio-economic disadvantage for women, which impede the exercise of their right to development. I examine a potential approach for engendering the right to development which synthesises socio-economic rights and substantive equality to capabilities. Finally, I evaluate the extent to which CEDAW represents this optimal synthesis, albeit with some important limitations.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sets Action Targets for Realizing the Right to Development in the New Era

During the three decades after the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the right to development has received wider acknowledgement throughout the international community, and has become a typical example of 'third-generation rights.' The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which puts forward 17 goals of sustainable development, was adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on September 25, 2015. From the contents of the agenda, we can see that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highly conforms to the right to development. Both match, not only in purpose and content, but also in object and subject, as well as in demands for countries and the foundations needed. We may regard the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as setting action targets for the realization of the right to development in the new era. Meanwhile, to realize the right to development in the new situation is to accomplish the aim of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The two adopt different approaches that lead to the same destination.

The Characteristics and Prospects of China's Assistance to Minority Areas in Realizing the Right to Development

Assisting minority areas to realize the right to development is an important part of Chinese government’s goals of protecting human rights and building a prosperous society. To assist minority areas to realize the right to development, China’s Constitution, laws, administrative regulations and policy documents define the State’s constitutional obligations. There also exists a legal and policy support system to help the minority areas to achieve economic and social development through measures such as transfer payments, assistance to Tibet and Xinjiang and counterpart support for poverty alleviation. However, China is also faced with the difficult challenges of poverty reduction, development, unbalanced regional development and other issues in assisting ethnic minority groups to realize the right to development.

China's Theoretical Innovation and Practical Contribution to the Right to Development——In Commemoration of the 30^(th) Anniversary of the United Nations' Declaration on the Right to Development

The discourse power over the right to development is the basis for value consensus and practical effect of the right to development. Over the three decades since the adoption of the United Nations' Declaration on the Right to Development, China has developed an innovative discourse system and practices on the right to development and contributed a series of original new concepts, new propositions and new ideas to the right, which may be generally summarized as ten major aspects: in terms of orientation, the right to development is a primary fundamental human right; in terms of the nature, the right to development is an essential requirement of socialism; in terms of strategy, the right to development is to be implemented through the strategy that 'development is the primary task'; in terms of contents, we should realize the right to development integrating economy, politics, culture, society and ecological conservation; in terms of concept, we propose that people equally participate in the equal right to development; in terms of principle, we should stick to the people-centered orientation of the right to development; in terms of steps, we should enhance the right to development in the Chinese dream for the great revitalization of the Chinese Nation; in terms of focus, we should construct a fair social security system; in terms of method, we should promote the right to development by the idea and method of rule of law; in terms of ideas, we should guide the right to development by an innovative, coordinated, green, open and sharing outlook on development.

Belt and Road Initiative and Realization of the Right to Development

The Belt and Road Initiative not only represents a new blueprint for realizing the right to development, but also provides a realistic approach and a possible solution for it. With clear goals and paths, the Belt and Road Initiativ e serves as a model for SouthSouth cooperation to promote development. Under the background of China’s economic progress, given China has the strong political will, adequate financial resources, and advanced technology to advance the initiative it will prove to be reliable driver of development. With the joint efforts of China and relevant countries, the Belt and Road Initiative will greatly promote the right to development of countries along the routes.

Research on the Virtuous Cycle Between the Right to Subsistence and the Right to Development

The right to subsistence and the right to development are the primary basic human rights,and there is a certain connection between the two.Although they refer to different things,they are mutually dependent and restricted.It is necessary to distinguish the right to development as a means and the right to development as an end.The former is the right to participate in,promote,and enjoy development,while the latter is the right of all people to enjoy free,comprehensive,and harmonious development.The protection of the right to subsistence and the right to development form an interacting virtuous cycle under certain conditions.The process of building a moderately prosperous society embodies this virtuous cycle.To build a modern socialist country in an all-round way,it is still necessary to keep on promoting the virtuous cycle between the right to subsistence and the right to development.

Right to Development in the Age of Globalization:Conceptual Concerns and Alternatives

One of the most proclaimed weaknesses of the international human rights system is the so-called implementation gap. It occurs in various forms and shapes and surfaces in numerous conventions, declarations, norms, guidelines, protocols, and myriad other instruments containing international human rights obligations or commitments. Under international human rights law, a logical response to identified gaps would be to strengthen the obligation side of a standard and to raise its legal standing and enforceability. Yet, as this notorious gap affects legal standards of varying degrees of legal force, this response might not be the only or even the preferred one to reach the goal, namely, to close this gap. For human beings, whose rights are infringed through failure to protect, respect or fulfill, addressing the implementation gap is not always a legal question. What matters more than technical compliance with legal standards are practical measures that deliver results. In order to deliver results in an international context, therefore, it is necessary to work from a common starting point towards common goals with a common understanding of the key concepts. Focusing on the right to development and anchored on the human dimensions to development, this paper contends that it is paramount to reconceptualize the politically difficult processes of finding consensus around the legal form and content of the right. Otherwise, isolated efforts to implement it without a solid legal foundation will remain unsustainable.

Positively Lead Sustainable Development and Effectively Implement the Right to Development: A Chinese Perspective

The concept and claim of the right to development is a major contribution of developing countries represented by China to the international human rights theories and system. China has been actively promoting sustainable development of the global economic, social and ecological environment and has made substantial contributions to global sustainable development. At the national level, China is committed to eradicating poverty and improving people’s well-being. At the international level, China calls for the strengthening of the special mechanism for the right to development and attaches great importance to experience sharing and summarizing of the right to development. China’s human rights cause has broad prospects for progress and will also make greater progress in safeguarding the right to development.

Realization and Protection of Right to Development after Victory of World War Ⅱ

This year marks the 70 th anniversary of the anti-Fascist war, and the right to development is also born during the war. In other words, the right to development is a product of the struggle of developing countries to break the old international order. Therefore, to study the right to development is of profound and realistic significance for human rights protection. The author will start from the meaning of the right to development, trace the course of its formation and evolution, and then by taking history as a mirror, discuss the realization and protection of the right to development, propose some relevant suggestions, so as to promote the development of a new international order and meet the new requirements of globalization.

The Right to Development of Chinese Ethnic Minorities Promoted in Accordance with the Idea of Putting People First

I. The Idea of Putting People First and the Right to Development from the Contemporary Perspective of Human Rights