Geneva (Fides Service) - Franciscans and Dominican, present as NGOs at the 60th assembly in Geneva of the United Nations Commission for Human Rights, pressed the United Nations to set up a high-level UN task-force, to promote respect for the Right to Development. Franciscans International and Dominicans for Justice and Peace said in a statement to the meeting that the task force should focus primarily on the needs of people suffering from poverty, marginalisation and disease and that it could be composed of experts in various fields including finance and trade.
Fr John Quigley OFM, Director of Franciscans International office in Geneva said “we believe that the task force’s mandate and composition are of crucial importance: the groups analysis and recommendation must include a clear human rights component and use the UN Declaration on the Right to Development as a guideline”. However he also underlined that the primary responsibility to promote, protect and implement the right to development falls to governments.
Right to Development is one of the most intensely discussed rights. Experts debate whether development is an entitlement that should be provided for by governments or merely an opportunity that is made possible to individuals and groups.
In the past few years Franciscans and Dominicans had worked hard to facilitate seminars and workshops in order to broaden the discussion. In their statement to the UN the Catholic Religious groups said that the right to development must be guaranteed for people suffering from poverty, marginalisation and hardship, who could be saved from the ravages of AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 29/3/2004 lines 23 words 243)