A/HRC/33/21 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to its resolution 31/4, the Human Rights Council held a panel discussion on the promotion and protection of the right to development, in commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, on 15 June 2016, during its thirty-second session. The present report contains a summary of the panel discussion. 2. The objective of the panel discussion was to increase awareness among all stakeholders, including Member States, relevant bodies of the United Nations system, in particular human rights mechanisms, and specialized agencies, funds and programmes, as well as the international financial and trade institutions, of the distinct role and intrinsic value of the right to development. The panel sought to generate policy recommendations and practical measures for making the right to development a reality for everyone, in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals. 3. The panel discussion was chaired by the President of the Human Rights Council and moderated by the Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Amr Ramadan. The panellists were the Secretary for Human Rights at the Ministry of Justice of Brazil, Flavia Piovesan (Brazil); the Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Chair of the Geneva Chapter of the Group of 77, Wayne McCook (Jamaica); the Head of the Department of International Law and Human Rights and Director of the Human Rights Centre of the United Nations-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica, Mihir Kanade (India); and the Executive Director of the South Centre, Martin Khor (Malaysia). 4. After the opening statement, the moderator introduced the topic and defined the scope of the discussion. The panellists subsequently made their initial statements, which were followed by an interactive discussion chaired by the President of the Human Rights Council. The discussion comprised two rounds of interventions by representatives of States, observers and non-governmental organizations with comments and questions from the floor, followed by comments and replies by panellists. The discussion concluded with final responses from the panellists and concluding remarks by the moderator. II. Opening of the panel discussion 5. The President of the Human Rights Council opened the panel discussion. Subsequently, a video marking the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was screened. The video explained that the Declaration defined development as an economic, social, cultural and political process aimed at the constant improvement and well-being of the entire population. However, development had been impaired by States not always respecting human rights in their development decisions, and inequalities in the world were growing. The Declaration was a road map for transformative change and called for accountability at all levels. It required States to be responsible for their actions at home and abroad. The right to development made development the right of all individuals and peoples. 2