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/37/11No 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 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

9 versions · 2009–2019

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/40/8

2019A/HRC/RES/40/8The 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
2018A/HRC/RES/37/11The 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
2016A/HRC/RES/31/11The 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
2015A/HRC/RES/28/8The 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
2013A/HRC/RES/23/11The 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

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

Debt Relief Debt Restructuring Economic Policy Economic Reform Economic, Social and Cultural Rights External Debt Human Rights International Cooperation Principles Sustainable Development

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the report 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 welcomes the work and contributions of the Independent Expert;

Also takes note with appreciation of the mapping of human rights impact assessment tools undertaken by the Independent Expert, and requests him to continue to develop guiding principles for assessing the human rights impact of economic reform policies, in consultation with States and all other relevant stakeholders, and to submit the guiding principles to the Human Rights Council at its fortieth session;

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 more than two thirds of countries across the world are contracting their public purses and limiting, rather than expanding, their fiscal space;

Reaffirms the fact that responses to the global economic and financial crises should not result in a decrease in debt relief, nor should they be used as an excuse to stop debt relief measures, as that would have negative implications for the enjoyment of human rights in affected countries;

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;

Also recognizes that not all efforts to reduce public spending are harmful to human rights, and calls for consistent public spending policies that ensure full compliance with the human rights obligations of States and for those policies to take into account the fact that the human rights of the poorest and most vulnerable must be respected, protected and fulfilled;

Recalls once again the call on industrialized countries to implement the enhanced programme of debt relief without further delay and to agree to cancel all the official bilateral debt of those countries covered by the programme in return for their making demonstrable commitments to poverty reduction;

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;

Stresses that the economic reform programmes arising from foreign debt should maximize the policy space of developing countries in pursuing their national development efforts, taking into account the views of relevant stakeholders in a way that ensures balanced development conducive to the overall realization of all human rights;

Also stresses that the economic programmes arising from foreign debt relief and cancellation must not reproduce past structural adjustment policies that have not worked, such as dogmatic demands for privatization and reduced public services;

Further stresses that fiscal consolidation and economic reform measures should never violate the minimum core content of economic, social and cultural rights, nor be directly or indirectly discriminatory or result in the adoption of impermissible retrogressive measures in terms of the enjoyment or implementation of economic, social and cultural rights;

Calls upon States, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to continue to cooperate closely to ensure that additional resources made available through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and other new initiatives are absorbed in the recipient countries without affecting ongoing programmes;

Urges States, international financial institutions and the private sector to take urgent measures to alleviate the debt problem of those developing countries particularly affected by HIV/AIDS so that more financial resources may be released and used for health care, research and treatment of the population in the affected countries;

Reiterates its view that, in order to find a durable solution to the debt problem and for the consideration of any new debt resolution mechanism, there is a need for a broad political dialogue between creditor and debtor countries and the multilateral financial institutions, within the United Nations system, based on the principle of shared interests and responsibilities;

Encourages States to continue to consider improved approaches to restructuring sovereign debt, taking into account the Basic Principles on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes and the work carried out by international financial institutions, in accordance with their respective mandates;

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;

Takes note of the work of the Advisory Committee on the activities of vulture funds and their impact on human rights, and requests the Committee to submit the final report thereon to the Human Rights Council at its forty-first session;

Requests the Independent Expert to continue to explore the interlinkages with trade and other issues, including HIV/AIDS, when examining the impact of structural adjustment and foreign debt, and also to contribute, as appropriate, to 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;

Encourages the Independent Expert to continue to cooperate, in accordance with his mandate, with the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, special rapporteurs, independent experts and members of the expert working groups of the Human Rights Council and its Advisory Committee on issues relating to economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development in his work;

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

Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Independent Expert with all necessary assistance, in particular all the staff and resources required to carry out his functions;

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

Requests the Independent Expert to submit a report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Human Rights Council at its fortieth session;

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

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