The Negative Impact of the Non-Repatriation of Funds of Illicit Origin to the Countries of Origin on the Enjoyment of Human Rights, and the Importance of Improving International Cooperation

A/HRC/RES/25/9No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2014.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2012–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/58/7

2025A/HRC/RES/58/7The negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, and the importance of improving international cooperationLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/52/21The negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, and the importance of improving international cooperationCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/46/11The negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, and the importance of improving international cooperationCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/40/4The negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, and the importance of improving international cooperationCompare with previous version
2017A/HRC/RES/34/11The negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, and the importance of improving international cooperationCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 topics

Corruption Crime Prevention Criminal Assets Human Rights Illicit Funds Transfer International Cooperation Law Enforcement Repatriation Report Preparation

What does this mandate say?

24 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the comprehensive study prepared by the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights;3

Calls upon all States that have not yet acceded to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to consider doing so as a matter of priority;

Calls upon States to consider enacting legislation to address offences by business enterprises, including multinational corporations, which deprive Governments of legitimate domestic sources of revenue for the implementation of their development agendas;

Asserts the urgent need to repatriate illicit funds to the countries of origin without conditionalities, in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption and in line with the commitments made at the 2005 World Summit and the 2010 high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals to make the fight against corruption a priority at all levels and to curb the illicit transfer of funds, and urges all States to step up their efforts to trace, freeze and recover those funds;

Acknowledges the importance of compliance with international human rights law in relation to the repatriation of funds of illicit origin by, inter alia, promoting human rights-based policy coherence in the deliberations and actions by States Members of the Human Rights Council and in the intergovernmental process of implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption;

Invites the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to consider ways of adopting a human rights-based approach in the implementation of the Convention, including when dealing with the repatriation of funds of illicit origin, and appreciates the continued efforts of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Asset Recovery of the Conference to assist States parties in fulfilling their obligations under the Convention to prevent, detect and deter in a more effective manner the international transfer of funds of illicit origin and to strengthen international cooperation in asset recovery, bearing in mind that, regardless of the capacities, resources and willingness of the requesting State’s institutions and authorities, there is a victim society that is suffering the consequences of the transfer of those funds;

Welcomes the decision made at the fifth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to renew the mandate of open-ended intergovernmental expert meetings on international cooperation to advise and assist States with regard to extradition and mutual legal assistance, and notes with appreciation the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative of the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and encourages coordination among existing initiatives;

Calls upon States to consider establishing an intergovernmental working group on the negative impact of illicit financial flows on the enjoyment of human rights, and to further explore policy responses to the phenomenon;

Realizes that, while illicit financial outflows from the least developed countries may account for only a small portion of all outflows of funds of illicit origin worldwide, they have a particularly negative impact on social development and the realization of social, economic and cultural rights in these countries, given the size of their economies, and expresses deep concern that such outflows, as estimated by the United Nations Development Programme, exceed the total official development assistance received by many of the least developed countries and, in some cases, surpass their debt service payments;

Underscores that the repatriation of funds of illicit origin would provide States that have undergone regime change with a further opportunity to improve the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and to fulfil their obligation to meet the legitimate aspirations of their peoples;

Acknowledges the important role that civil society can play in exposing corruption and drawing attention to the negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin on the rule of law and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, and reiterates in this context the obligation of States to protect reporting persons in accordance with article 33 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms;

Welcomes recent national initiatives to adopt anti-money-laundering legislation as an important step in the fight against corruption and the willingness demonstrated by some States to cooperate in facilitating the repatriation of funds of illicit origin, and calls for more robust regulations in this regard, including through the implementation of policies aimed at reducing the flow of funds of illicit origin, ensuring their repatriation and the provision of technical assistance to developing countries;

Calls for further international cooperation through, inter alia, the United Nations system, in support of national, subregional and regional efforts to prevent and combat corrupt practices and the transfer of assets of illicit origin, in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and in this regard encourages close cooperation at the national and international levels between anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement agencies and financial intelligence units;

Calls upon all States requested to repatriate funds of illicit origin to uphold fully their commitment to make the fight against corruption a priority at all levels and to curb the illicit transfer of funds, and to acknowledge that, in fulfilling their obligations in this regard under the United Nations Convention against Corruption, they also have a responsibility towards societies affected by corruption to make every effort to achieve the repatriation of funds of illicit origin to the countries of origin in order to diminish the negative impact of non-repatriation, including on the enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights in the countries of origin by, inter alia, lowering the barriers imposed on requiring jurisdictions at the tracing stage and enhancing cooperation in this regard between anti-corruption agencies, law enforcement agencies and financial intelligence units, in particular taking into account the risks of dissipation of those funds and, where appropriate, by delinking confiscation measures from a requirement of conviction in the country of origin;

Calls upon all States requesting the repatriation of funds of illicit origin to uphold fully their commitment to make the fight against corruption a priority at all levels and to curb the illicit transfer of funds, and to apply the principles of accountability, transparency and participation in the decision-making process regarding the allocation of repatriated funds to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in order to improve prevention and detection procedures, correct identified weaknesses or mismanagement, prevent impunity, provide effective remedies directed at creating conditions for avoiding new human rights violations and improve the overall administration of justice;

Reaffirms that it is the obligation of the State to investigate and prosecute corruption, calls upon all States to strengthen criminal proceedings directed at freezing or restraining funds of illicit origin, and encourages requesting States to ensure that adequate national investigative procedures have been initiated and substantiated for the purpose of presenting mutual legal assistance requests and, in this context, encourages requested States to provide information on legal frameworks and procedures to the requesting State;

Underlines that there is also a corporate responsibility to comply with and respect all applicable laws and human rights, and a need for greater access to effective remedies by victims in order to realize effective prevention of, and remedy for, business- related human rights harm, as set out in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;

Stresses the need for transparency in financial institutions and effective due diligence measures to be applied by financial intermediaries, calls upon States to seek appropriate means in accordance with their international obligations to ensure the cooperation and responsiveness of financial institutions to foreign requests to freeze and recover funds of illicit origin and the provision of an efficient mutual legal assistance regime to States requesting repatriation of those funds, and encourages the promotion of human and institutional capacity-building in that regard;

Recalls the importance of the mechanism for the review of implementation of the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and urges State parties to comply with their obligations in the conduct of the country reviews to enhance effective implementation of the Convention as a preventive measure for the outflow of illicit financial flows;

Requests the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, to continue to consider the impact of illicit financial flows on the enjoyment of human rights as part of the mandate;

Also requests the Independent Expert to undertake a further study to analyse the negative impact of illicit financial flows on the enjoyment of human rights in the context of the post-2015 development agenda, and to present an interim study to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth session and a final study to the Council at its thirty-first session;

Requests the High Commissioner to provide all necessary facilities and assistance, from within existing resources, to allow the Independent Expert to carry out the mandate set out in the present resolution in the manner she or he independently plans, including by holding consultations, and calls upon all relevant stakeholders, including States and United Nations bodies and agencies, as well as other international and regional entities, to cooperate fully with the Independent Expert in this regard;

Requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Member States and different forums dealing with the issue of the repatriation of funds of illicit origin within the United Nations system for consideration and necessary action and coordination as appropriate, particularly within the context of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption;

Decides to continue its consideration of this matter under the same agenda item.

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