TWN Info Service on Finance and Development (Oct25/01)
29 October 2025
Third World Network

UN: Trade wars, debt & aid cuts eroding hard-won development gains
Published in SUNS #10320 dated 29 October 2025

Penang, 28 Oct (Kanaga Raja) — While in recent decades, the world has become safer, fairer, more inclusive, as well as more prosperous, with human rights being at the heart of this progress, yet today, declining respect for human rights and multilateralism are threatening these very hard-won development gains, the deputy United Nations human rights chief has warned.

In her opening statement at the 12th session of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development on 27 October, the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Nada Al-Nashif, said trade wars and crushing levels of debt were adding to the strain, while global development assistance has kept shrinking.

The 12th session of the Expert Mechanism, a subsidiary body of the Human Rights Council established in 2019 under resolution 42/23, is being held in Geneva from 27 to 29 October.

The theme of the 12th session is addressing current challenges in realizing the right to development nearly 40 years after the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development.

In her opening statement, Ms Al-Nashif said in recent decades, the world has advanced in extraordinary ways – becoming safer, fairer, more inclusive, and more prosperous, adding that human rights are at the heart of this progress.

Yet, she warned that today, declining respect for human rights and multilateralism are threatening these very hard-won development gains.

Conflicts are causing appalling suffering as some countries ignore the rules of war, targeting civilians and critical infrastructure, Ms. Al-Nashif said.

“There are growing pushbacks on climate action, on civic participation, on diversity, and equality – even in the countries that once championed them.”

Trade wars and crushing levels of debt are adding to the strain, while global development assistance continues to shrink, said the deputy rights chief.

The OECD projects another 9 to 17 percent drop in 2025, and up to 25 percent drop in bilateral assistance for the Least Developed Countries. Meanwhile, military spending has soared to record highs, she noted.

“The results speak for themselves: poverty reduction has stalled, and virtually all SDGs are off track. The World Bank has warned of a lost decade for development.”

But this path is reversible, Ms. Al-Nashif emphasized.

At the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, a clear majority of leaders reaffirmed their strong support for human rights, for multilateralism, and for international law, she said.

“They called for a return to the values of the UN Charter, and for revitalized cooperation anchored in global solidarity.”

The right to development offers a concrete way to answer this call and translate these values into action, she stressed.

“It reminds us that human rights are neither exclusive nor abstract – they are universal and tangible.”

Ms. Al-Nashif said individually, it reinforces all human rights – economic, social, cultural, civil, and political – through equal participation and a fair distribution of benefits, helping to build more cohesive and just societies.

Collectively, the right to development envisions a world anchored in justice, in inclusion and stability, and the diversity of its voices and cultures, she added.

“At the national level, integrating the right to development into fiscal policies and social protection systems can help us shift towards human rights-based economies.”

Globally, she said, “we must reshape the international financial architecture so that all countries can deliver for their citizens.”

This means aligning financing with human rights and addressing the structural barriers that continue to hold development back.

Ms. Al-Nashif noted that “we already saw promising steps in the right direction with the adoption of the Sevilla Commitment, which includes the establishment of a dedicated platform for borrower countries to strengthen their voice in the global debt architecture.”

Pointing out that nearly forty years have passed since the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Right to Development, she said “it is high time that we move from words to action in order to realise this right in practice.”

“The Expert Mechanism is helping us do just that. Translating the normative framework into practical guidance for national policies and international cooperation.”

In this regard, she welcomed the Mechanism’s Annual Report and the two studies presented to the Human Rights Council last month, which speak directly to the challenges being faced today.

The deputy rights chief said that the first study – on Operationalizing the Right to Development in International Development Cooperation – offers tools to make development cooperation fairer and more effective.

“Because such cooperation is not charity – it is a human rights imperative. And for many countries, it is indeed a matter of survival.”

She said the second study – on climate justice, sustainability, and the right to development – shows how the right to development can help us achieve the goals of environmental sustainability and economic development.

Ms. Al-Nashif also said the Mechanism’s upcoming studies will take these efforts forward, looking at climate finance and at emerging technologies – including artificial intelligence – to make sure that, rather than deepening inequalities, they become a tide that lifts all boats.

“The human rights dimension of trade – in focus during this session – is another essential part of – we hope will be – building a fair and resilient global economy.”

She said that the Human Rights Office stands firmly with Member States in advancing the right to development across 80 projects in 38 countries – tackling unilateral coercive measures and the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin; assisting States in building human rights economies; providing budget analysis and advice on debt servicing.

“In a world as interconnected as ours, progress is only real when it is shared – when every person, everywhere can live with dignity and hope.”

“The right to development is here to help us achieve this progress, and I hope that we can use this session to turn commitments into real change on the ground,” Ms. Al-Nashif concluded.

Also speaking at the opening of the 12th session, Paul Empole Losoko Efambe, Vice-President of the Human Rights Council and Permanent Representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said the Human Rights Council attached great importance to the right to development as a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights.

In its numerous resolutions on the right to development, the Council reaffirmed that all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development, could only be fully realised in an inclusive and collaborative framework at the international, regional and national levels, he added.

Efambe said the world continued to face multiple challenges that threatened the realisation of the fundamental right to development, making the work of the Expert Mechanism more relevant and crucial than ever.

He said the continued efforts of the Expert Mechanism would contribute greatly to the realisation of the right to development.

The Expert Mechanism then held a general debate with Member States and civil society representatives, in which speakers addressed topics including reforms to the international financial system and debt relief, equitable access to new technologies such as artificial intelligence, climate financing, and a proposed global convention recognising the right to development as an inalienable human right. +