Human rights must be at heart of economic governance, policies: Irene Khan

Bangladesh’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Irene Zubaida Khan has called for placing human rights at the centre of economic policymaking and governance.

She made the call during a high-level dialogue titled “The Political Economy of Human Rights” at the UN Headquarters on Tuesday.

Ambassador Khan stressed that economic progress should be measured not merely by growth but also by its contribution to equality, human dignity and the realisation of fundamental rights.

She also underscored the need for equitable taxation, affordable development financing, debt sustainability and reforms to the international financial architecture.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk highlighted growing concentrations of economic and political power, rising military expenditure, mounting debt burdens and widening inequalities that are undermining human rights.

Speakers at the dialogue stressed the need for a fairer international tax system, equitable debt restructuring, accountable economic governance and meaningful civil society participation to address structural inequalities and protect vulnerable communities.

The event brought together Ambassadors Omar Hilale of Morocco, Laura Dupuy Lasserre of Uruguay, Mxolisi Nkosi of South Africa and Stavros Lambrinidis of the European Union, alongside human rights expert Ignacio Saiz, Professor Sakiko Fukuda-Parr and UN Independent Expert Attiya Waris.

The Permanent Missions of Bangladesh, Morocco, South Africa and Uruguay jointly organised the dialogue, which emphasised the need to embed human rights principles in international economic governance and future global development frameworks beyond 2030.