Despite having engaged the international community in debate for over three decades, the concept of ‘right to development’ remains one of the most controversial and contentious issues in international law, qualifying, as it were, as a ‘conundrum’ in international law. The central problems relate to a conceptual difficulty in accepting the idea of ‘development’ as a ‘human right’ and in identifying the definitional contours of such a right.

Whereas international legal instruments explicitly recognize what are categorized as ‘first generation’ (civil and political) rights and ‘second generation’ (economic, social and cultural) rights, there is no legally-binding international instrument recognizing ‘third generation’ rights such as the right to development. There has emerged, nevertheless, a strong plea in favour of recognizing new rights to match the need of the times. This plea has found manifestation in international law in the form of several international instruments such as the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development and the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, both of which affirm that there exists a right to development. However, aside from the fact that these instruments do not impose binding legal obligations, they also fail to clearly enunciate what exactly a ‘right to development’ entails, thus leaving intact most of the definitional confusion surrounding the concept.

Thus a multitude of questions arise in the consideration of the Right to Ddevelopment as a concept in international law. When a ‘right to development’ is claimed, what constitutes ‘development’? Who can claim this right, i.e. is it an individual right or a collective one? On whom will the obligations rest to fulfil such a right? Would such a right be justiciable in law, i.e. are there definitive mechanisms to ensure the realization of such a right? If this right is not justiciable, can it be made enforceable through other means? How is the realization of the right to be assessed? What are the indicators that the right is being fulfilled? How will the realization of this right relate to other recognized human rights? The above-mentioned questions are illustrative of the numerous questions associated with the concept of the Right to Development. Apart from examining these legal problems surrounding the concept, research at CDHR is also directed at documenting the evolution and current status of the right to development in international law.