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/31/22No 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 2016.

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?

10 topics

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

What does this mandate say?

34 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the final study on illicit financial flows, human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 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;

Welcomes the report of the High-level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, which highlighted the gravity of the problem of illicit financial flows in the continent, ranging from $50 billion to $60 billion a year;

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;

Urges requesting and requested States to cooperate to recover the proceeds of corruption, in particular, embezzled public funds, stolen assets and unaccounted-for assets, including those that are found in safe havens, and to demonstrate strong commitment to ensuring the return or disposal of such assets, including their return to the countries of origin;

Calls upon all States to consider enacting legislation to address offences by business enterprises, including multinational corporations, that deprive Governments of legitimate domestic sources of revenue for the implementation of their development agendas, in compliance with their international obligations, including international human rights law;

Also calls upon all States to seek to reduce opportunities for tax avoidance, to consider inserting anti-abuse clauses in all tax treaties and to enhance disclosure practices and transparency in both source and destination countries, including by seeking to ensure transparency in all financial transactions between Governments and companies to relevant tax authorities;

Asserts the urgent need to repatriate illicit funds to the countries of origin without conditionalities, taking into account due process, to strive to eliminate safe havens that create incentives for transfer abroad of stolen assets and illicit financial flows, and to strengthen regulatory frameworks at all levels;

Encourages requested State parties to respond to requests for assistance and to adopt such measures as may be necessary to enable them to provide a wider scope of assistance, pursuant to article 46 of the United Nations Convention against Corruption in the absence of dual criminality;

Calls upon all States to consider waiving or reducing to the barest minimum reasonable expenses deducted when recovering assets, particularly when the requesting State is a developing country, bearing in mind that the return of illicitly acquired assets contribute to the promotion of sustainable development;

Acknowledges the importance of full compliance with international human rights law in relation to the repatriation of funds of illicit origin;

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;

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;

Notes the importance of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank publishing estimates of the volume and composition of illicit financial flows on an annual basis to monitor progress in implementing target 16.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals on illicit financial flows;

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

Underscores that the repatriation of funds of illicit origin would provide States that are undergoing a democratization process 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 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;

Encourages all States to share best practices in the freezing and recovery of funds of illicit origin;

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, in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption, and 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 competent agencies, 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 and to remove barriers to asset recovery, including by simplifying their legal procedures;

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;

Calls upon requesting and requested States with practical experience in asset recovery to develop, as appropriate, in cooperation with interested States and providers of technical assistance, non-binding practical guidelines, such as a step-by-step guide for efficient asset recovery, with a view to enhancing effective approaches to asset recovery based on best practices, practical experience and the lessons learned from past cases, while being mindful to seek to add value by building upon existing work in this area;

Encourages States parties to consider, where appropriate, and in accordance with national law, the opportunity of referring to the draft Lausanne guidelines for efficient recovery of stolen assets in their practice;

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 States parties to comply with their obligations in the conduct of country reviews to enhance effective implementation of the Convention as a preventive measure for the outflow of illicit financial flows;

Invites 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;

Requests the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council to conduct a comprehensive research-based study on the impact of flow of funds of illicit origin and the non-repatriation thereof to the countries of origin on the enjoyment of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, with a special emphasis on the right to development, with a view to compiling relevant best practices and main challenges, and to make recommendations on tackling those challenges based on the best practices in question, and to present a progress report on the requested study to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-sixth session for its consideration;

Also requests the Advisory Committee to seek, if necessary, further views and the input of Member States, relevant international and regional organizations, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant special procedures, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations in order to finalize the above-mentioned study, taking into account, inter alia, the final study on illicit financial flows, human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of 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;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide all assistance and financial resources necessary to allow the Independent Expert to carry out the mandate set out in the present resolution, and calls upon all relevant stakeholders, including States and United Nations bodies and agencies, and 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 the 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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