GENEVA (19 September 2019) – UN Special Rapporteur Saad Alfarargi will visit Switzerland from 23 September to 2 October
2019 to assess the country’s efforts to integrate the right to development into its policies.
“I am looking forward to meeting Government representatives and others working towards implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and promoting the realisation of the right to development, and I will aim to identify remaining challenges with a view
to making recommendations,” said Alfarargi.
This is the second country visit by the UN expert on the right to development since the mandate was established.
Alfarargi will also examine how the Government promotes and guarantees effective popular participation and
accountability during the development process.
“I look forward to learning more about Switzerland’s policies on development cooperation and how they affect the
advancement of human rights in relation to the 1986 Declaration on the Right to Development,” he said.
The UN expert said he aimed to help the Government strengthen its legislation, policies and practices to address
inequalities, including those based on gender and social status.
Alfarargi will meet public officials, international development workers and representatives of civil society in Bern,
Biel/Bienne, Lugano and Zug.
The Special Rapporteur will present his preliminary findings at a press conference on 2 October 2019 at 14:30 local time at Hotel Ador in Bern.
He will submit a report on his visit to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in September 2020.