The right to development is a cornerstone of human rights, and the global initiatives proposed by China provide a viable way to protect this right and broader international human rights, international experts underscored at the 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance held in Beijing.

The two-day forum, themed "Joint Development, Shared Human Rights: The 40th Anniversary of the Adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development and a New Vision for Global Human Rights Governance", concluded on Friday. It saw an attendance of over 400 participants from more than 100 countries and international organizations.

Experts at the forum noted that while the UN General Assembly declared the right to development an inalienable human right 40 years ago with the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, many countries are still struggling with development challenges today. They stressed that turning the right to development from a principle into a reality is the key issue the international community needs to address.

Jeddi Mowbray Armah, deputy minister of legal affairs at Liberia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that over the past four decades, the right of development declaration has evolved from a contested aspiration to an increasingly influential principle within international human rights discourse.

"Yet, despite this considerable normative progress, important questions remain regarding its institutional realization. For many developing countries, and particularly for post-conflict states, the right to development remains more firmly established in principle than in practice," he added. "The challenge before us is not whether the right exists, it is whether the international architecture has evolved sufficiently to make its realization consistently achievable."

According to the Progress Report on the Global Development Initiative 2025 released by the Center for International Knowledge on Development, a Beijing-based think tank, in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, the world faces a financing gap of more than $4 trillion every year. And many developing countries have long-term and structural financing shortages in key areas such as infrastructure, agriculture, education and health.

Eric Yong Joong Lee, professor of international law at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea, argued that the persistent failure to operationalize the right to development stems from structural inequities embedded in traditional Western-centric global governance systems, which have perpetuated asymmetrical power relations and systemic marginalization of the Global South.

"Realizing the right to development requires a paradigmatic shift toward a fairer, more inclusive, and multipolar global governance system," Lee said. "The Global Governance Initiative, in synergy with complementary international initiatives proposed by China, may offer a viable institutional pathway to achieve this transformation and to advance a more equitable global order."

Ivan Cardillo, a researcher at the Center for International and Strategic Studies at Luiss University in Italy, noted that the right to development is the most fundamental of all human rights, yet it is often less discussed. "The Global Governance Initiative, together with other global initiatives proposed by China, can be read as the Chinese contribution to the global dialogue and global effort of guaranteeing the right to development," he said.

"If we look at the economic initiatives, China is really trying to give real support to other countries," he said, citing China's recent zero-tariff policy for African countries and global infrastructure projects China funded.

He highlighted the five pillars of the Global Governance Initiative as important steps toward better protecting human rights. The Global Governance Initiative, proposed by China in 2025, puts forward five core principles: adhering to sovereign equality, abiding by the international rule of law, practicing multilateralism, advocating a people-centered approach, and focusing on taking real actions.