A pioneering compilation of academic literature on the International Covenant on the Right to Development, featuring some of the leading experts on the subject.
The authors delve at length into the central enquiry on how and to what extent the Covenant will, as a binding instrument of international law, shape the global balance of power. Envisaged to be incorporated in the international bill of human rights, the analysis on the various component elements leads to the conclusive argument that, once in force, the Covenant on the Right to Development will have major implications for how the international order is structured and how development is henceforth pursued.
Publication date: August 14, 2026
Contents
Foreword ix
Mihir Kanade
In Memoriam xiv
Acknowledgements xvi
List of Tables and Figures xvii
Abbreviations and Acronyms xviii
Notes on Contributors xxi
1 Introduction: Trajectory to the International Covenant on the
Right to Development 1
Carol Chi Ngang
Part 1: Nature of the Right to Development
2 Self-Determination and the Collective Rights of Peoples in the Right to
Development Agenda 21
Amal Jawad and Bonny Ibhawoh
3 The Holders of the Right to Development 58
Koen de Feyter
4 Realising Sustainable Development through a Binding Right to
Development 86
Clement Agyemang
Part 2: Global Framework for Development and the Matrix of Power
5 Power Asymmetries in the Politics of International Development
Cooperation and the Quest for Global Balance 113
Pratyush Sharma
6 Third States’ Extraterritorial Obligations on the Right to
Development 149
Carol Chi Ngang
7 Right to Development Obligations for International Organisations 178
Elisabeth Achancho Etagha
8 Development Financing in the Global South: an Analysis of Governance
at the IMF and the World Bank 204
Daniel M. Walyemera
Part 3: Perspectives on Right to Development Justice
9 Operationalising the Right to Development within the Context
of the African Continental Free Trade Area: Some Gender
Considerations 235
Rita Nkiruka Ozoemena
10 Bridging the Divide: the Impact of Digital Technological Advancements
on the Right to Development in Africa 260
Dorcas Basimanyane
11 South Africa’s Constitutional Remedies in the Practice of the Right to
Development 290
Mofihli Teleki
12 Advancing Youth Right to Development: Challenges and Prospects 314
Bamisaye Olutola
Part 4: Systemic Impediments to Realising the Right to Development
13 African Responses to the Crisis of Illicit Financial Flows and the Draft
Covenant on the Right to Development 333
Serges Djoyou Kamga
14 International Trade Restrictions for Developing Countries: a Critique of
Trade Policies 356
Denis Nfor Yuni
15 The Impact of Corruption on Social and Redistributive Justice and the
Right to Development in Africa 383
Munyai Anzanilufuno
16 An Assessment of Armed Conflicts and Insurgencies as a Hindrance to
the Right to Development in Africa 410
Linda Mushoriwa
17 Conclusion: Envisaging Actualisation of the International Covenant on
the Right to Development 445
Carol Chi Ngang
Index 461
