A/HRC/9/17 page 3 Introduction 1. The open-ended Working Group on the Right to Development convened its ninth session in Geneva from 18 to 22 August 2008, in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 4/4.1 2. The Working Group was established by the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution 1998/72, and by the Economic and Social Council, in its decision 1998/269, with a mandate (a) to monitor and review progress made in the promotion and implementation of the right to development as elaborated in the Declaration on the Right to Development, at the national and international levels, providing recommendations thereon and further analysing obstacles to its full enjoyment, focusing each year on specific commitments in the Declaration; (b) to review reports and any other information submitted by States, United Nations agencies, other relevant international organizations and non-governmental organizations on the relationship between their activities and the right to development; and (c) to present for the consideration of the Commission on Human Rights a sessional report on its deliberations, including advice to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) with regard to the implementation of the right to development, and suggesting possible programmes of technical assistance at the request of interested countries with the aim of promoting the implementation of the right to development. 3. The high-level task force was established by the Commission, in its resolution 2004/7, and the Economic and Social Council, by its decision 2004/249, at the recommendation and within the framework of the Working Group, in order to assist it in fulfilling its mandate. In its resolution 2005/4, the Commission requested the task force to examine Millennium Development Goal 8, on a global partnership for development, and to suggest criteria for its periodic evaluation with the aim of improving the effectiveness of global partnerships with regard to the realization of the right to development. 4. The Council, in its resolution 4/4, and the General Assembly, in its resolution 62/161, endorsed the road map for implementation of the mandate of the high-level task force, as outlined in the report of the Working Group on its eighth session (A/HRC/4/47, paras. 52 to 54). I. ORGANIZATION OF THE SESSION A. Opening of the session 5. The Chairperson-Rapporteur, Arjun Sengupta (India), opened the ninth session of the Working Group. In his statement, the Chairperson-Rapporteur recalled that the right to development was now accepted as a composite human right involving corresponding obligations for duty-bearers for its phased realization. The pilot application of the criteria in relation to Millennium Development Goal 8 represented a great opportunity to understand and decide, 1 The ninth session was originally scheduled for 25 to 29 February 2008, but was postponed and rescheduled (see A/HRC/8/8).