A/HRC/19/45 Annex VI Remarks by the Secretary-General at the General Assembly event to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development (New York, 8 November 2011) Your Excellency, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the General Assembly, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, Distinguished Chairpersons of the General Assembly‟s First, Second and Third Committees, Ladies and gentlemen, A quarter of a century ago, the Declaration of the Right to Development gave hope to millions of people around the world. It brought all human rights together. And it centred development around people. After the Declaration was adopted, it was reaffirmed over and over. At the Rio Conference on the Environment and Development. At the World Conference on Human Rights. And in the Millennium Development Goals. On paper, the Declaration lived. In practice, it languished. Economic growth and material wealth were mistaken for true development. Visible, accountable hands in government ceded too much to the invisible, unreliable hands of the market. Human rights were too often subverted for financial gain. Our environment was sacrificed for the economy. Lavish luxury fed off of deplorable want. In 1986, this visionary Declaration committed the world to true development. action. By 2011 there has been significant progress. The MDGs galvanized the world into But for too many people, basic needs are a distant dream. As we meet, calls for change echo across the world. We cannot take refuge in silence. That is why my advice to world leaders is consistent. I tell them to listen. Listen to your people. Hear their concerns. Pay close attention. That is what I do in my travels around the world. In refugee camps. In the ashes of war. In cooperatives and communities. The languages are different, but the message is the same: 19