Mandate 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

A/HRC/RES/34/3View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2008–2020

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/43/10

2020A/HRC/RES/43/10Mandate 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 RightsLatestCompare with previous version
2017A/HRC/RES/34/3Mandate 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 RightsCompare with previous version
2014A/HRC/RES/25/16Mandate 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 RightsCompare with previous version
2008A/HRC/RES/7/4Mandate 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

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

What subjects does this mandate have?

11 topics

Advisory Services Debt Relief Debt Restructuring Economic Reform Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Experts External Debt Human Rights Principles Report Preparation Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Recalls that every State has the primary responsibility to promote the economic, social and cultural development of its people and, to that end, has the right and responsibility to choose its means and goals of development and should not be subject to external specific prescriptions for economic policy;

Recognizes that structural adjustment reform programmes and policy conditionalities limit public expenditure, impose fixed expenditure ceilings and give inadequate attention to the provision of social services, and that only a few countries manage to achieve sustainable higher growth under these programmes;

Also recognizes that debt relief can play a key role in liberating resources that should be directed towards activities consistent with attaining sustainable growth and development, including poverty reduction and the achievement of development goals, including those set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and therefore that debt relief measures, where appropriate, should be pursued vigorously and expeditiously, ensuring that they do not replace alternative sources of financing and that they are accompanied by an increase in official development assistance;

Urges the international community, including the United Nations system, the Bretton Woods institutions and the private sector, to take appropriate measures and actions for the implementation of the pledges, commitments, agreements and decisions of major United Nations conferences and summits, including the Millennium Summit, the World Conference on Human Rights, the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, the World Conference on Sustainable Development and the International Conference on Financing for Development, in particular those relating to the question of the external debt problem of developing countries, in particular of heavily indebted poor countries, least developed countries and countries with economies in transition;

Reiterates its request to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to pay more attention to the problem of the debt burden of developing countries, in particular of least developed countries, and especially the social impact of the measures arising from foreign debt;

Also reiterates that the activities of vulture funds highlight some of the problems in the global financial system and are indicative of the unjust nature of the current system, which directly affects the enjoyment of human rights in debtor States, and calls upon States to consider implementing legal frameworks to curtail predatory vulture fund activities within their jurisdictions;

Takes note with appreciation of the progress report of the Advisory Committee on the activities of vulture funds and their impact on human rights, and requests the Committee to present a final report thereon to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session for its consideration;

Welcomes the work and contributions 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, and takes note with appreciation of his latest report submitted to the Human Rights Council;

Decides to extend the mandate 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, for a period of three years, and requests the Independent Expert to pay particular attention to:

The effects of foreign debt and the policies adopted to address them on the full enjoyment of all human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights;

The impact of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations on the capacity of States to design and implement their policies and programmes, including national budgets that respond to vital requirements for the promotion of the realization of social rights;

Measures taken by Governments, the private sector and international financial institutions to alleviate such effects in developing countries, especially the poorest and heavily indebted countries;

New developments in and actions and initiatives being taken by international financial institutions, other United Nations bodies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations with respect to economic reform policies and human rights;

The effects of public debt, economic reform and financial consolidation policies on the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals;

The impact of illicit financial flows on the enjoyment of human rights;

The process entrusted with the follow-up to the International Conference on Financing for Development, with a view to bringing to its attention the issue of the effects of structural adjustment and foreign debt on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights;

Enhancement of consultations with all relevant stakeholders in the fulfilment of the mandate;

Calls upon all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Independent Expert in the discharge of his or her mandate, to provide him or her with all the necessary information requested by him or her, and to give serious consideration to responding favourably to his or her requests to visit their countries in order to enable him or her to fulfil his or her duties effectively;

Urges international organizations, international financial institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector to cooperate fully with the Independent Expert in the discharge of his or her mandate;

Requests the Independent Expert to participate in relevant international dialogues and policy forums relating to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to undertake thematic research and to provide advice to States, international financial institutions, the private sector and civil society on the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda in the field of international lending, financial policy and human rights, paying particular attention to Sustainable Development Goals 10 and 17;

Also requests the Independent Expert to develop guiding principles for human rights impact assessments for economic reform policies, in consultation with States, international financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders, and to organize expert consultations for the development of the guiding principles and a mapping of existing impact assessment tools;

Invites the Independent Expert to submit his findings and the guiding principles to the Human Rights Council in the context of his annual report;

Requests the High Commissioner to provide all the human and financial resources necessary for the effective fulfilment of the mandate by the Independent Expert;

Requests the Independent Expert to report regularly to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly in accordance with their respective programmes of work;

Decides to continue its consideration of this matter at its thirty-seventh session under the same agenda item.

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What does this mandate say?

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