Achieving equitable and sustainable development is one of the fundamental goals of the contemporary international system, as emphasized in human rights and development documents.This research aims to analyze the role and functions of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in realizing the right to development, examining its capacities, challenges, and limitations. This article raises the question of how effective UNCTAD has been in the practical realization of the right to development? It is believed that, given the context in which UNCTAD was formed in the context of political pressure from developing countries on major economic powers, lack of support from industrialized countries, lack of guarantees for the implementation of commitments, lack of precise definition of the right to development, and dispersion of expectations of member states, it is not possible to speak of the complete success of this institution in realizing the right to development. The findings of this article, which were obtained by using the descriptive-analytical method and reviewing international documents and texts related to UNCTAD's performance, show that although UNCTAD has played an important role in identifying obstacles to development and providing theoretical solutions, due to structural weakness, pressure from dominant economic powers, incoherence among member states, and lack of binding instruments, it has not been able to have a fundamental impact on the global economic system from the perspective of realizing the right to development. Reviewing international structures and strengthening the executive position of UNCTAD are inevitable requirements for the effectiveness of this institution.