A/HRC/45/21 (Geneva, February 2020). The Special Rapporteur also conducted a country visit to Switzerland (September/October 2019). 14. Other special procedure mandate holders also issued reports referencing the right to development. For example, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance presented a report on global extractivism and racial equality to the Human Rights Council at its forty-first session.10 In the report, the Special Rapporteur views the Declaration on the Right to Development as part of the applicable international human rights framework, which is central to reforming, regulating and evaluating the extractivism economy. 11 OHCHR organized a panel discussion on unilateral coercive measures and human rights, including the right to development; a report on the panel discussion was submitted to the Council at its forty-third session.12 C. Activities to support the realization of the right to development, including inter-agency coordination 15. During the period under review, the Secretariat and OHCHR organized and supported numerous activities with direct relevance to the realization of the right to development, including by increasing collaboration between OHCHR and other agencies and offices and supporting the work of OHCHR field presences.13 16. The Secretary-General14 and the High Commissioner15 addressed the realization of the right to development by tackling the COVID-19 crisis. The Secretary-General has issued policy briefs on the COVID-19 pandemic and its socioeconomic impact,16 debt17 and human rights challenges18 through global solidarity. The United Nations has also adopted a framework for the immediate socioeconomic response to COVID-19 that includes key indicators to track the human rights implications of the pandemic. 19 Furthermore, the Secretary-General has called for a global ceasefire, 20 arguing that it was time to silence the guns, a plea that converges with the obligation to achieve disarmament enshrined in article 7 of the Declaration on the Right to Development. 17. In March 2020, the High Commissioner called for sanctions to be eased to enable medical systems to fight COVID-19 and limit global contagion, emphasizing the negative impact of sanctions on Cuba, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) and Zimbabwe.21 In her statement to the Human Rights Council on 9 April 2020, 22 the High Commissioner emphasized that the pandemic had clarified the need to increase efforts to ensure that all people, including the most vulnerable, benefited from development. She reminded all States of the duty of international cooperation and assistance. In May 2020, the High Commissioner signed “Making the response to COVID-19 a public common good”,23 along with several heads of agencies and of State. The signatories called for equitable global access to technologies aimed at fighting COVID-19 by sharing knowledge, intellectual property and data. The 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 4 A/HRC/41/54. Ibid., paras. 30 and 45. A/HRC/43/36. www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/DevelopmentIndex.aspx. www.un.org/en/coronavirus. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/COVID-19.aspx. https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-03/SG-Report-Socio-Economic-Impact-of-Covid19.pdf. www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/un_policy_brief_on_debt_relief_and_covid_april_2020.pdf. www.un.org/ruleoflaw/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/UN-SG-Policy-Brief-Human-Rights-andCOVID-23-April-2020.pdf. https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/UN-framework-for-the-immediate-socio-economicresponse-to-COVID-19.pdf. www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2020-03-23/transcript-of-the-secretary-generalsvirtual-press-encounter-the-appeal-for-global-ceasefire. www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25744. www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=25785. www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/global-research-on-novel-coronavirus2019-ncov/covid-19-technology-access-pool/solidarity-call-to-action.