KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Lok Bahadur Thapa, called for mainstreaming the right to development across financing, trade, debt relief and development cooperation, stressing that sustainable development is not merely a policy objective but a fundamental human right.

Addressing the event titled “Right to Development at 40: Catalysing Global Partnerships for Inclusive and Sustainable Development” at the UN Headquarters in New York, Ambassador Thapa noted that with only 18 percent of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets currently on track and just four years remaining to achieve the 1973 Agenda, the international community must translate its global commitments into concrete action.

According to Nepal’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, Thapa emphasized that the right to development should be integrated into all aspects of financing, trade, debt relief and development cooperation. He also underlined the need to ensure meaningful participation in development processes and strengthen accountability mechanisms.

Ambassador Thapa further stressed that countries furthest behind—including Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)—should not be regarded as recipients of charity but as holders of rights that the international community has pledged to uphold. #nepal #rss