May 16, 2022

Mr. Chair Rapporteur，

China warmly congratulates you, Ambassador Akram, on your election as the Chair Rapporteur of this meeting of the IGWG on the Right to Development. With your rich experience in the field, weare confident that under your leadership, the IGWG will have a lot to achieve in promoting the implementation of the right to development.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the economic and social development and people's livelihood of all countries, especially developing countries, and exacerbated inequality. While recoveringfrom the pandemic, people of all countries have shared concerns about development challenges and are unremittingly pursuing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. China is of the view that development is the key to solving all problems. The Global Development Initiative we proposed is to galvanize worldwide attention to development, strengthen global development partnerships,promote international development cooperation, and lend fresh impetusto the realization of the 2030 SDGs, so as to achieve stronger, greener and healthier global development. States should give full play to the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights, stay committed to people-centered development to make sure that development is for the people and by the people, and that its fruits are shared among the people. Efforts should be made to achieve inclusive development that benefits all with emphasis on addressing uneven and inadequate development among and within states, leaving no states and persons behind. States should practice multilateralism, and support the UN in playing a coordinating role in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Developed countries should extend more robust and targeted support and assistance to developing countries.

Mr Chair Rapporteur,

35 years on since the Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted, there is still a long way to go in implementing the right to development globally. Multilateral human rights institutions for too long have failed in providing adequate input in the right to development, and some countries still refuse to recognize the right to development as an inalienable basic human right. At its 49th session, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution "Commemoration of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development", which reiterates the importance of implementing the right to development. We hopeall parties will take this opportunity to deliver in concrete terms their important commitments in the Declaration. China is ready to work with all stakeholders to this end.

China welcomes the roles played by the Intergovernmental Working Group, the Expert Mechanism, and the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development in the implementation of the right to development, appreciates the work they have done, and is willing to further conduct constructive exchanges and cooperation with them. We call upon the Human Rights Council, the OHCHR and other UN human rights mechanisms to pay more attention to the right to development and promote its mainstreaming within the UN system.

Thank you, Mr. Chair Rapporteur.