The IFSW statement at the 12th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development (EMRTD)
The International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) delivered a statement at the 12th Session of the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development (EMRTD), strongly advocating for a fundamental shift in global development strategy from up down to bottom up.
Addressing delegates, IFSW emphasized that achieving the goals of the Right to Development requires placing communities at the centre of the process.
The Federation’s core call is a demand for systemic change, stating:
“We call upon States, the UN, and civil society to embrace more inclusive, bottom-up collaborative, and eco-social approaches and to create in partnership with social workers a systemic mechanism in which communities themselves are experts of their own development and aspirations, as a parallel mechanism to the one we are participating in.”
By championing an “eco-social approach,” IFSW is pressing for a comprehensive inclusive strategy that integrates social justice, human rights, and environmental sustainability with economic development. The statement highlights the critical need for a parallel mechanism that formally recognizes local knowledge and empowers communities to drive their own development agenda, ensuring that development outcomes are genuinely inclusive and sustainable.
The IFSW statement was presented by, Dr. Swetha Rao Dhananka.