Beneficiaries
As with all human rights, the human person is the subject and the beneficiary of the right. The right to development is claimable both individually and col- lectively. Significantly, this right is binding both on individual States (in ensur- ing equal and adequate access to essential resources) and the international community (in its duty to promote fair development policies and effective international cooperation).
International attention focused more closely on the right to development dur- ing consultations in Geneva, in early 1990, which reaffirmed that the right of individuals, groups and peoples to take decisions collectively, to choose their own representative organizations and to have freedom of democratic action free from interference was fundamental to democratic participation. The con- cept of participation was of central importance in the realization of the right to development. The consultation also considered that development strate- gies oriented only towards economic growth and financial considerations had failed, to a large extent, to achieve social justice and that there was no single model for development applicable to all cultures and peoples. Development is a subjective matter, and development strategies should be determined by the peoples concerned themselves and should be adapted to their particular con- ditions and needs.
Taking the lead in the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the United Nations set up mechanisms for ensuring the com- patibility of all United Nations activities and programmes with the Declara- tion. The relationship between development and human rights was affirmed at the World Conference on Human Rights in the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action which gave new impetus to the Declaration on the Right to Development. The Vienna Declaration confirmed that democracy, development, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are inter- dependent and mutually reinforcing. It was acknowledged that the full enjoy- ment of human right requires durable economic and social progress, and vice versa: in other words, there cannot be full attainment of human rights without development, nor can there be development without respect for human rights.