"The opportunity for everyone to participate in sustainable development is the main condition for realizing human rights," Turkmen scholar said in Beijing
40 years of the Declaration on the Right to Development, over 100 countries and 400 participants, including the UN. The fourth parallel session of the forum is devoted to green development and environmental human rights. A scholar from Turkmenistan: green development is not just environmental protection, but everyone's right to be part of a sustainable future.
As reported by CCTV+, a Turkmen scholar stated at the 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance in Beijing on Friday: "Green development must be recognized as an integral component of the right to development, directly affecting the realization of basic human rights." The forum marks the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development and aims to provide a new vision for global human rights governance.
Yagmyr Nuryyev, Director of the Institute of State, Law and Democracy of Turkmenistan, speaking at the fourth parallel session on green development and environmental human rights, emphasized: "The theme of the Forum — 'Shared Development and Common Human Rights' — and especially the work of the fourth parallel session on green development and human rights protection, are of great significance. The Declaration on the Right to Development proclaims that this right is an inalienable human right and that its realization requires conditions in which every person can participate in and benefit from the development process. Green development is a crucial component of the right to development because it ensures a harmonious balance between economic progress, social justice and environmental protection, directly affecting the realization of human rights, including the rights to life, health and a healthy environment."
Nuriyev noted that the reports and materials presented at the Forum demonstrate the need for governments and the academic community to pay more attention to issues related to environmental human rights. "Green development and the protection of environmental human rights require special attention from states, as well as targeted research by scholars from various fields, including legal experts. Comprehensive study of these processes, together with the accumulated experience of international forums, will help formulate concrete proposals for improving global governance in this area," the scholar said.
He stressed that green development goes beyond environmental protection policies: "Green development is not limited only to environmental protection measures. At its core lies the opportunity for every person to participate in and benefit from sustainable development in the context of a healthy environment. This directly corresponds to the goals of the Declaration on the Right to Development."
The two day forum, jointly organized by the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened on Thursday and attracted more than 400 participants from over 100 countries and international organizations, including the United Nations.
The Declaration on the Right to Development was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1986. It proclaims that the right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development. The link between ecology and human rights is becoming increasingly clear: polluted air, lack of clean water and climate change directly undermine the right to life and health.
When a Turkmen scholar says that green development is not just environmental policy but the opportunity for every person to participate in a sustainable future, he returns us to a simple truth: human rights cannot exist on a dead planet. Clean air, drinkable water, a sustainable economy — these are not luxuries, but basic conditions for a person to develop. The Beijing forum brought together 100 countries to remind us: while we argue about numbers and jurisdictions, somewhere a child cannot breathe freely. Protecting that child's future begins with recognizing that environmental justice is the right to life.
