BRUSSELS/UNITED NATIONS, (Unib Rashid) — Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has called for the early adoption of the International Covenant on the Right to Development, stressing that every individual has the right to pursue a better future and every nation should have the means to achieve sustainable development.

Addressing a high-level meeting at the United Nations Headquarters marking the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development, the Prime Minister said the declaration had placed people at the centre of development four decades ago by recognizing development as an inalienable human right.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the declaration’s message remained highly relevant, emphasizing that development should not be measured solely by wealth creation but should also promote social progress and protect human dignity.

He expressed concern over the challenges facing the developing world, noting that shrinking fiscal space and limited resources were increasingly being diverted away from human development.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the impact of climate-related disasters, saying they were erasing hard-earned development gains. He warned that technological inequalities could reproduce existing disparities in the emerging digital era.

“A right cannot be realized where the means to realize it are denied,” the Prime Minister said, calling for a proactive international approach to ensure that developing countries have the resources and opportunities necessary to advance human development.

Highlighting Pakistan’s own development priorities, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the country’s efforts were guided by a homegrown economic transformation plan focused on increasing exports, embracing digital technologies, taking effective climate action, strengthening energy infrastructure, and promoting equity and empowerment.

He said the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) complemented Pakistan’s broader development agenda.

At the international level, the Prime Minister called for urgent action to address debt distress, describing the growing burden as a potential debt trap for developing countries. He also urged reforms to the international financial architecture to improve access to concessional financing, provide support for climate adaptation and loss and damage, and help bridge the digital and artificial intelligence divide.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the early adoption of the International Covenant on the Right to Development.

He said the true measure of global development should not simply be how far the world had progressed, but whether humanity was advancing together.

The Prime Minister expressed hope that the 40th anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development would become a turning point, enabling the international community to move from commitments and declarations towards concrete action.