A/HRC/45/40 57. Moreover, challenges and obstacles within the Working Group on the Right to Development have for many years made it impossible to fulfil its mandate. 58 Despite more than 33 years having passed since its adoption, the potential of the Declaration on the Right to Development remains unrealized. A. Support for a legally binding instrument 58. Against this backdrop, it is important to recall that an overwhelming majority of Member States have endorsed the right to development as a fundamental human right. A clear majority of Member States also assign high importance to putting in place a legally binding instrument in support of that right.59 Particularly noteworthy is a joint statement made by the Group of 7760 and the Non-Aligned Movement.61 The statement was made in September 2016 at the high-level segment of the General Assembly to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, and it is especially significant since it reflects the position of two of the largest groupings at the United Nations. In the statement, the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement reiterated their unequivocal commitment to the right to development and also specified the need to strive for greater acceptance, operationalization and the realization of the right to development at the international level.62 59. In the final document of the eighteenth NAM Summit, it was declared that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, was one of the critical elements in the promotion and realization of the right to development and was the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, which required a multifaceted and integrated approach. 63 The final document of the eighteenth NAM Summit incorporated 43 references to the right to development. In one such reference, it was reaffirmed that all human rights, including the right to development, are universal, inalienable, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, and that human rights issues must be addressed within the global context through a constructive, nonconfrontational, non-politicized and non-selective, dialogue-based approach, in a fair and equitable manner, with objectivity, respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, impartiality, non-selectivity and transparency as the guiding principles, taking into account the political, historical, social, religious and cultural particularities of each country. In the final document, it was agreed that work for greater acceptance, operationalization and realization of the right to development at the international level would be undertaken. In addition, all States were urged to undertake necessary policy formulation at the national level and to institute measures for implementation of the right to development as a fundamental human right. They were also urged to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, in order to ensure development and to eliminate obstacles to it, in the context of promoting effective international cooperation for the realization of the right to development. Furthermore, the United Nations human rights machinery was urged to ensure priority operationalization of that right, including by elaborating a Convention on the Right to Development. 64 B. Opposition to a legally binding instrument 60. On the other hand, several Member States, while pointedly reiterating their support for the right to development, have not favoured elaboration of a binding international legal 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 14 Statement by Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, twentieth session of the Working Group on the Right to Development, Geneva, 29 April 2019. This has been repeatedly affirmed by NAM summits. The current membership of the Non-Aligned Movement constitutes just over 62 per cent of membership in the United Nations. The Group of 77 consists of 134 Member States and is currently the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries at the United Nations. The Non-Aligned Movement consists of 120 member States, 17 observer States and 10 international organizations with observer status. www.g77.org/statement/getstatement.php?id=160922 (accessed on 7 July 2020). NAM 2019/CoB/Doc.11. NAM 2019/CoB/Doc.1, paras. 977.1, 980.14 and 980.15.