Dr Lindner appointed to Academic Circle supporting UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development

Dr Allison Lindner, Lecturer in Law at UCL Laws, has been appointed a member of the Academic Circle on the Right to Development established to support the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, Professor Surya Deva. The Academic Circle is co-chaired by Professor Celine Tan of Warwick Law School and Professor Daniel Bradlow of the Centre for Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria, and comprises a small group of academics from various disciplines and different regions of the world who will conduct relevant research, participate in consultations, organise workshops, and disseminate recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur. Her term runs from April 2024 to April 2026.

The UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development contributes to the realisation of the Right to Development by developing practical guidance to implement and integrate the right through the development policies and programmes at local, national, regional and international levels. The mandate is part of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council, which comprises independent human rights experts with mandates to advise and report on country-focused or topic-specific human rights issues.

The 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development sets out that all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to, and enjoy economic, social, cultural and political development. It also includes the full realisation of the right of peoples to self-determination and the exercise of sovereignty over natural resources.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur will include a focus on implementing the right of development into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (the SDGs), the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Dr Lindner, who researches sustainable development law and sits on the UCL Education for Sustainable Development Working Group, commented:

“I honoured to support the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development in my personal academic capacity as an emerging expert in sustainable development and environmental law. The international community is at a critical juncture: deeper cooperation is needed to address the multiple crises of climate change, health, social and economic insecurity within the framework of the realisation of the sustainable development goals and the right to development for people in all corners of the globe.

“I look forward to working with the members of the Academic Circle including the co-chairs, Professor Tan and Professor Bradlow, to assist Professor Deva, the UN Rapporteur on the Right to Development, to achieve his mandate. After attending the UCL Global Engagement, UCL European Institute and UCL Public Policy-organised International Policy Fellowship to Geneva, with Geneva Science-Policy Interface in November 2023, this is the next step for me to contribute my skills and expertise to the vital work of the UN policymaking ecosystem.”