{"id":320615,"date":"2026-10-29T11:12:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T15:12:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=320615"},"modified":"2026-11-13T13:57:47","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T18:57:47","slug":"statement-by-surya-deva-special-rapporteur-on-the-right-to-development-29oct26","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/statement-by-surya-deva-special-rapporteur-on-the-right-to-development-29oct26\/","title":{"rendered":"The right to development would require that the Palestinian people have \u201cactive, free and meaningful\u201d participation, Statement by Special Rapporteur Surya Deva, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Palestine Committee Briefing on \u201cHuman Dignity Under Strain\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Check against delivery<\/u><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Statement by Mr. Surya Deva<\/strong><\/h2>\n

United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to development<\/strong><\/h2>\n

at a briefing entitled <\/strong><\/h3>\n

\u201cHuman Dignity Under Strain: The Humanitarian and Human Rights Consequences in the Occupied Palestinian Territory\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

organized by the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Palestinian Rights Committee<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

New York,\u00a0<\/strong>29 October 2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Madam Vice Chair, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,<\/p>\n

I would like to thank the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (Committee) for inviting me to provide briefing on \u201cHuman Dignity Under Strain: The Humanitarian and Human Rights Consequences in the Occupied Palestinian Territory\u201d.<\/p>\n

In my remarks, I will focus on how Israel is violating \u2013 by design \u2013 the right to development of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. I will also outline the practical tools that the right to development provides to realise all human rights and fundamental freedoms.<\/p>\n

However, before I do so, I would like us to consider why are the two briefers \u2013 Ms Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Commissioner Srinivasan Muralidhar \u2013 not in the room to provide this briefing in person? It is due to the US Government not granting them a visa, while Ms Albanese has also been sanctioned in breach of international law. If States continue to ignore this lawlessness, one day even they might become the target of this lawlessness. Therefore, I call on States \u2013 including the Member States of this Committee \u2013 to defend even those who are defending the rights of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

Madam Vice Chair<\/p>\n

Occupation hits the very essence of the right to development. In fact, the right to development is rooted in the ongoing struggle to secure independence from political and economic colonisation and to create a fair and just international order. Therefore, it is impossible for the Palestinian people to realise fully their right to development because Isreal\u2019s unlawful occupation does not allow them to exercise their right to self-determination.<\/p>\n

Even within the occupation context, Israel\u2019s prolonged and indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Gaza \u2013 including children and women \u2013 have resulted in loss of thousands of innocent lives. How can dead people realise their right to development? But even those who have survived the bombing face trauma and serious mental heath issues, undermining their ability to achieve a holistic development.<\/p>\n

Moreover, the constant expansion of illegal settlements, forced displacement, violent dispossession and restriction on movements mean that Palestinians\u2019 right to development \u2013 not merely economic development but also social, political and cultural development \u2013 is violated daily. Let me provide a few illustrative examples:<\/p>\n

\u27a2 With about 80 per cent of the total structures destroyed or damaged, the right to housing is in tatters in Gaza<\/p>\n

\u27a2 The Palestinian people\u2019s right to food has been turned into a privilege at the mercy of the occupying power<\/p>\n

\u27a2 Access to public services such as water, sanitation and health has been equally affected due to indiscriminate bombing for over two years<\/p>\n

\u27a2 Intensified restrictions on the movement of Palestinians have contributed to rising unemployment, declining incomes and deepening poverty across the Occupied Palestinian Territory<\/p>\n

\u27a2 90 per cent of Gaza\u2019s two million olive trees have been destroyed and Israeli settlers are attacking olive farmers in the West Bank, thus directly affecting a vital source of livelihood for Palestinians<\/p>\n

The right to development does not focus merely on outcomes. The process of development matters equally. However, the Palestinian people have not been able to participate in decisions affecting them. The recent Board of Peace is a case in point. The People of Palestine have had no \u201cactive, free and meaningful\u201d participation in the proposed peace, governance and reconstruction plans imposed on them.<\/p>\n

Since the 1992 Rio Declaration, sustainability is in-built in the right to development. Israel’s assault on Gaza has not merely killed innocent people \u2013 it has also polluted the environment and degraded the soil, water and land in Gaza. A 2025 Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵEP report has estimated that much of Gaza\u2019s vegetation has been destroyed. When the Palestinian people\u2019s access to water, sanitation and food is compromised, they ability to realise their development aspirations cannot be fulfilled.<\/p>\n

Distinguished delegates<\/p>\n

Let me now highlight at least five tools that the right to development offers to realise the human rights of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

First, in line with Article 1(2) of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development (Declaration), the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination \u2013 including full sovereignty over all their natural wealth and resources \u2013 must be realised by ending Israel\u2019s unlawful occupation. States must come together to achieve the two-state solution. Equal sovereign co-existence is the only way forward to sustain peace in the region.<\/p>\n

Second, Article 5 of the Declaration requires Isreal (as well as other States) to end apartheid and all forms of racial discrimination experienced by the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n

Third, in line with Article 7 of the Declaration, States should do their utmost to achieve disarmament and ensure that the saved resources are used for the holistic development of the Palestinian people. In a report (A\/81\/187) that I will present tomorrow to the Third Committee, I urge States to move away from funding war economies to investing in a peace economy. The
\nOccupied Palestinian Territory is a good case study to show why this shift must happen.<\/p>\n

Fourth, since international cooperation is central to the right to development, States have a duty to cooperate to end the miseries experienced by the Palestinian people for decades. They should cooperate to end Isreal\u2019s occupation as well as to prevent the ongoing genocide. States should also cooperate to hold accountable all those who have committed international crimes.<\/p>\n

Fifth, Israel and other States that have caused or contributed to the destruction of Gaza have an obligation to repair and rebuild. The right to development requires that the Palestinian people have \u201cactive, free and meaningful\u201d participation in such reconstruction decisions.<\/p>\n

Madam Vice Chair<\/p>\n

Let me conclude by saying that the people of Palestine have an inalienable human right to development. This right does not disappear simply because of its systemic violations by an occupying power. Isreal and other States have legal obligations to create conditions necessary for the Palestinian people \u2013 both present and future generations \u2013 to enjoy a dignified life with all fundamental rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n

Thank you very much.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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