Care at the heart of well-being and right to development

01.03.23

UN Geneva, Human Rights Council - At the meeting commemorating the 35th anniversary of the right to development, MMM reaffirmed the importance of care work, including mothers' unpaid care work, to this right. Its realization requires a transformation of our economic system so that it recognizes, values, and supports the work of caring for each other and for the planet.

The Right to Development is worth celebrating: its multi-dimensional nature and focus on well-being make it the perfect framework to protect human rights and realize the SDGs.

Unfortunately, today’s various crises still prevent its realization. Many of these, are deeply rooted in our current economic system.

This is why we at MMM argue it is high time to recognize the inadequacy of GDP as a measure of well-being and development, to move away from the growth mantra, and to understand that our economy should care for its people and planet, not prosper at their expense.

Care is a key word as it is at the heart of well-being. Economies depend on care work to survive and thrive. As we care for our children, we invest in the future.

The UN Secretary-General rightly emphasized this when he said: ‘The pandemic has shown us who is doing the work that really matters: nurses, teachers, care workers. As we recover, we need to remember this. It is time to end the inequities of unpaid care work and create new economic models that work for everyone’.

That our current economic system does not factor in unpaid care work is the cause of much economic hardship and injustice for women, especially mothers.

Development is understood as a comprehensive process aiming to improve the population’s health and happiness. An equipped economic system should thus recognize, value, and support the work of caring for each other and for the planet.

Let’s follow the example of governments such as Finland, Iceland, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales, which are already transforming into well-being economies. Let’s encourage similar initiatives at the local level.

Our call today is for Member States to collectively ‘move beyond GDP’ and put this issue on the UN agenda as a step forward to the realisation of the right to development.  

MMM Oral Statement for download

Constance Nothomb, one of our representatives to the United Nations in Geneva, delivered this Statement at the High-level meeting commemorating the 35th Anniversary of the Right to Development during the 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council.

 

Most read articles

The New EU Gender Equality Roadmap : A Call for Inclusion of Mothers

04.03.25

The European Commission’s initiative on a new Gender Equality Roadmap post-2025, marks a significant step forward in addressing gender disparities across the European Union. Make Mothers Matter (MMM

Lire plus

Sharing is caring:
equal parenting, a path to social cohesion?

27.01.25

UN New York, UN Commission on Social Development – Register now to our virtual side-event for a discussion on how a more equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work

Lire plus

Child and Family Support in Europe : ensuring families receive the best possible care

05.12.24

We were delighted to coorganise, together with the European Parents Association (EPA), the “Quality Assurance in Child and Family Support in Europe: Policy Lessons for Evidence-Informed Decision

Lire plus
See all the articlesof the category

Latest News from MMM and its Network

Mothers: The Missing Link in Child Rights Discussions?

01.08.25

UN New York – Following the Human Rights Council's 2025 Annual day on the rights of the child – which focussed on Early Childhood Development – a resolution on that same topic will be tabled at the 80th U

Read more

Human-Centred Strategy: Care at the Core of Sustainability

29.07.25

UN New York – UN New York – On 16 July, we hosted a side-event at the UN High Level Political Forum (HLPF) titled Unpaid Care at the Core: A Catalyst for Achieving the SDGs. The event aimed to highlight the

Read more

Empowering Mothers, Advancing Rights: MMM at HRC59

14.07.25

UN Geneva - The UN Human Rights Council provides a crucial platform for advocacy and engagement on key human rights issues that affect mothers. This overview highlights MMM’s engagement at the 59th session of

Read more

Intergenerational Solidarity in work-life balance and childcare

13.07.25

MMM was invited to speak at AGE’s annual conference, which focused on contributing to the EU Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness. The event explored a range of key areas, including the labour market, healt

Read more

Joint Letter to EU Leaders: MMM and Partners Advocate for Strategic Investment in Children and Families

09.07.25

Make Mothers Matter, along with 24 member organisations of the Alliance for Investing in Children, has sent a joint letter to Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), Roberta Metsola (Presid

Read more

Unpaid Care at the Core: A Catalyst for Achieving the SDGs

06.07.25

UN New York / HLPF - Register now to join us online for our High Level Political Forum side-event.

Read more