Sustainablethe_contribution_of_development_to_the_enjoyment_of_human_rights_-_ifla_-_front_page development plays a key role in supporting and enabling the enjoyment of human rights. From gender equality to poverty eradication, identifying good practices and challenges, and facilitating global cooperation helps stakeholders deliver on both development and fundamental rights goals and commitments.

An Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) questionnaire sought to explore this mutually reinforcing relationship and examine the principles and practical considerations in ensuring that development promotes and protects human rights.

IFLA’s response to the questionnaire highlighted that:

  1. Meaningful access to information is a key dimension of development. This is reflected in a number of SDG targets and in other publications emphasising the contribution of access to relevant content, digital inclusion, and skills to navigate the information ecosystem to development.
  2. As an indicator and driver of development, access to information supports and enables a wide range of human rights. These include freedom of expression and the right to take part in government; the right to health and education, and cultural rights.
  3. Measures that foster meaningful access to information can draw on available good practices and lessons learned from the global library field. Inspiring examples range from public access facilities in Lithuanian libraries helping users find employment to rural health libraries in Nepal, Bhutan and India. Infrastructure, capacity-building and enabling policy frameworks help realise the synergy between access to information as a form of development and fundamental human rights.

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