The Right to Development as a Human Right to an Enabling Environment for Collective Wellbeing

Chalabi, Azadeh ORCID: 0000-0001-9128-3090 (2026) The Right to Development as a Human Right to an Enabling Environment for Collective Wellbeing Journal of Human Rights. ISSN 1475-4835, 1475-4843

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Abstract

A significant move towards advancing the right to development (RtD) occurred in 2018 when the Human Rights Council called for drafting a legally binding treaty on the RtD. Despite the substantial progress made by the Working Group since then, this right remains under-theorised and continues to be contested on various grounds. As we approach to embark on a treaty, the urgent challenge lies in clarifying the concept of the RtD. Drawing upon the NIC theory of rights and the two key documents of the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development and 2023 Draft International Covenant on the Right to Development, this article puts forward a new theoretical model for the RtD in order to serve four main purposes: first, to illuminate that wellbeing, as the outcome of development, does not refer to individual wellbeing-which can leave the right with unlimited scope and at the risk of losing its meaning by becoming a right to everything- but rather to collective wellbeing; second, to illustrate that the RtD is a human right to an enabling environment for improving the wellbeing of the whole population and individuals as a member of a group; third, to explore the nature of the RtD as a collective right held jointly by individuals; and fourth, to uncover the six key constituent components of the RtD as a composite right.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	basic resources, Collective right, NIC theory, Right to development, wellbeing
Divisions:	Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice > Law Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > Faculty of Humanities & Social Sci (All T&R Staff) Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences > School of Law and Social Justice > School of Law and Social Justice (T&R Staff)
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	17 Feb 2026 17:01
Last Modified:	22 Jul 2026 10:31
DOI:	10.1080/14754835.2026.2636291
Related Websites:	Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3197085
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