Background

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Active, free and meaningful participation in decision-making is a core element of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development, as “every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized.”  

 

Article 2(3) of the Declaration reminds States about their “duty to formulate appropriate national development policies that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals, on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development”. Article 8(2) further provides that “States should encourage popular participation in all spheres as an important factor in development and in the full realization of all human rights.”

 

The 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action also affirm the value of participation of rightsholders in decision-making processes. Similarly, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underscores the importance of participation in several goals: women’s full and effective participation at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life (Goal 5.5), the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management (Goal 6.b) and the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance (Goal 16.8). Moreover, the Regional Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean (Escazú Agreement) and the UNECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Aarhus Convention) reinforce the importance of participation in decisions related to the environment.

 

Despite such a strong and explicit normative basis, decisions about development-related policies, programmes and projects taken by States, UN agencies, multilateral development banks and businesses rarely ensure active, free and meaningful participation of individuals and communities. Consultations are often tick-box exercises to provide legitimacy to decisions already made. Individual and groups made vulnerable or marginalised face additional challenges in getting their voices heard. Moreover, in many cases, the enabling ecosystem – e.g., access to information, availability of expertise and resources, civic space and good governance – to facilitate active, free and meaningful participation is missing at all levels of governance.  

 

Against this background, the Special Rapporteur is launching a new project, Participation in Development. This project will feed into developing policy briefs to elaborate the participatory dimensions of the model of “planet-centred participatory development” proposed by the Special Rapporteur in his vision report (A/HRC/54/27). In addition, the Special Rapporteur will also develop practical guidance on active, free and meaningful participation as part of his September 2026 report to the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur will be convening several consultations (both in-person and virtual) in all world regions until the end of 2025 to collect input for this project. 

 

The first of such in-person consultations will take place in Bangkok during the 2024 UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia Pacific. All stakeholders such as States, international organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, trade unions, human rights defenders, Indigenous peoples, community organizations, research centres, academia, lawyers, businesses and industry associations are invited to join this consultation. 

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Consultation questions​​​​

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To encourage participants to share all relevant input for the project’s scoping, the consultation will be open-ended. Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur wishes to collect input around the following specific issues:

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• What limitations do you see in the current models or processes of consultations? 

• How should active, free and meaningful participation of individuals and communities in development-related policies, programmes and projects look in practice? 

• What is the interplay between active, free and meaningful participation and Indigenous Peoples’ right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)? 

• How to ensure participation of individuals or groups experiencing layers of intersecting discriminations?

• What are the main barriers to active, free and meaningful participation? How could these barriers be overcome? 

• How to create enabling conditions such as access to reliable information, civic space, transparency and the rule of law to facilitate active, free and meaningful participation? 

• How can individuals and communities seek remedies for lack of active, free and meaningful participation? 

• What type of practical guidance will be useful for States, UN agencies, multilateral development banks, businesses and CSOs in ensuring active, free and meaningful participation?

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Collaboration 

 

The Special Rapporteur is very keen to organise (or participate in) consultations involving children, youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, migrants, persons with disability, peasants and communities discriminated based on work and descent. If any organisation would like to collaborate in this respect, please contact us.  

 

Contacts 

 

If you have any questions or suggestions about this project, please contact Ms Antoanela Pavlova antoanela.pavlova@un.org) or Mr Suparerk Wesarat (suparerk.wesarat@un.org).