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Law professor named UN special rapporteur
A professor from Sydney-based Macquarie Law School has been appointed the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to development.
Jerome Doraisamy
Professor Surya Deva (pictured) has been officially named, by the UN Human Rights Council, as the second special rapporteur on the right to development, having been recommended by the president of the Human Rights Council, Václav Bálek, as the preferred candidate.
“More than 35 years after the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development, billions of people across the world are yet to see their right to development realised. In 2016, the UN Human Rights Council appointed the first special rapporteur on the right to development to represent this mandate,” the institution noted.
Professor Deva is the director of the Centre for Environmental Law and professor at Macquarie Law School, as well as being “an internationally recognised scholar” in the field of business and human rights, and has extensive experience advising UN agencies, governments, national human rights institutions, multinational corporations, trade unions and civil society organisations.
In the role, Professor Deva will — Macquarie Law School went on — develop international standards in relation to the right to development, present annual reports to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva and UN General Assembly in New York, provide technical advice to governments, conduct country visits to assess how states are implementing the right to development, and accept complaints against states and other actors breaching the right to development.
Speaking about the appointment, Professor Deva said: “I am honoured and delighted to take up the role of the UN special rapporteur on the right to development.
“By adopting an inclusive, consultative and intersectional approach, I will aim to mainstream the right to development and push for its realisation in all world regions.”
Professor Deva will commence his term — which will last for an initial period of three years — on 1 May.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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