Geneva, Switzerland: On the sidelines of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva organized a side event in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and with participation of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) on “Enhancing the Right to Development through People-Centered Development Assistance.” The panelists of the side event included the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, HE Mr. Saad Alfarragi, the Executive Director of Operations Sector at the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD),  Eng. Faisal Alkahtani, Chief of Right to Development Section at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Ayuush Bat Erdene, the expert at Foreign Economic Relation Department, Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, Mr. Tran Ngoc Lan, Representative of Association Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (APG23) to the United Nations in Geneva, Ms. Maria Mercedes Rossi.

The side event shed light on the importance of international efforts in activating the right to development, and exploring the most appropriate ways to provide international development assistance that give priority to the interests, plans and needs of the communities and countries benefiting from such assistance, as well as achieving sustainable and comprehensive development, and contributing to the enjoyment of human rights by all.

His Excellency the Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, Mr. Abdulmohsen Majed Bin Khothaila, underscored the importance of holding side events of this kind to highlight that important issue related to all aspects of human rights, namely the operationalizing of the right to development, which is a reflection of the political will of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s wise leadership to activate this right not only at the national level, but also at the regional and international levels, expressing that the projects undertaken by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to operationalize the right to development were well received by the attendees representing all member states. Mr. Bin Khothaila, moreover, emphasized that the organization of such events comes in response to the directives of His Highness the KSA Minister of Foreign Affairs to enhance the presence of KSA within all international organizations.

In his speech during the discussion, the Executive Director of Operations Sector at the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), Eng. Faisal Alkahtani, highlighted the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's leading role in operationalizing the right to development through the efforts made by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) for supporting development projects that yielded positive results on the beneficiary communities, indicating that the projects funded by SFD contributed to enhancing the performance of sustainable and comprehensive development in the beneficiary countries. Furthermore, Mr. Alkahtani presented a number of development projects in the beneficiary countries during the discussion, stressing the importance of working with local communities to develop and implement projects that are compatible with the principles of sustainable development that focus on the human’s and community’s right to development and that are environmentally friendly.

For his part, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, Mr. Saad Alfarragi, stated that today's event is an excellent opportunity to assess the progress made in the promotion and protection of the right to development and to think about how to move forward.

the expert at Foreign Economic Relation Department, Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, Mr. Tran Ngoc Lan,  moreover, expressed his appreciation for the support and cooperation provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through SFD for supporting development efforts in Vietnam, indicating the great impact of the twelve projects funded by SFD spanning various sectors in Vietnam on the lives of community members.

A representative of a civil society association concerned with the right to development, Ms. Maria Rossi, indicated that operationalizing the right to development and the adoption of the principle of international solidarity are of paramount importance and inevitable means to reduce the many inequalities that threaten basic human rights, especially for the disadvantaged and the poor.

The panelists, furthermore, emphasized the challenges facing developing countries when operationalizing the right to development, and the role played by countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in supporting development projects in developing countries through SFD and in promoting sustainable and comprehensive growth in beneficiary countries in accordance with international law. .

It is noteworthy that the side event is the first of its kind held by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Mission in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The side event was attended by a number of international actors and civil society organizations, where they shared the best practices in the field of operationalizing the right to development as well as the key contemporary challenges related to development assistance.

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