RES/11/5 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

Human Rights Council

Eleventh Session

Resolution 11/5. 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

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and other relevant international human rights instruments,

Reaffirming all resolutions and decisions adopted by the Commission on Human Rights on the effects of structural adjustment and economic reform policies and foreign debt on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, including Commission resolutions 1998/24 of 17 April 1998, 1999/22 of 23 April 1999, 2000/82 of 26 April 2000, 2004/18 of 16 April 2004 and 2005/19 of 14 April 2005, as well as Council resolution 7/4 of 27 March 2008,

Reaffirming also its resolution S-10/1 of 23 February 2009 on the impact of the global economic and financial crises on the universal realization and effective enjoyment of human rights,

Bearing in mind paragraph 6 of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006,

Stressing that one of the purposes of the United Nations is to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character,

Emphasizing that the World Conference on Human Rights agreed to call upon the international community to make all efforts to help alleviate the external debt burden of developing countries in order to supplement the efforts of the Governments of such countries to attain the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights of their people,

Stressing the determination expressed in the United Nations Millennium Declaration to deal comprehensively and effectively with the debt problems of low- and middle-income developing countries, through various national and international measures designed to make their debt sustainable in the long term,

Noting with concern that the total external debt of low- and middle-income countries had risen to 2,983 billion United States dollars by 2006, from 1,951 billion dollars in 1995, and that, by 2007, the total debt service payments of developing countries had risen to 523 billion dollars, from 220 billion in 1995,

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Acknowledging that there is greater acceptance that the increasing debt burden faced by the most indebted developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, is unsustainable and constitutes one of the principal obstacles to achieving progress in people-centred sustainable development and poverty eradication and that, for many developing countries and countries with economies in transition, excessive debt servicing has severely constrained their capacity to promote social development and to provide basic services to realize economic, social and cultural rights,

Expressing its concern that, despite repeated rescheduling of debt, developing countries continue to pay out more each year than the actual amount they receive in official development assistance,

Affirming that debt burden further complicates the numerous problems facing developing countries, contributes to extreme poverty and is an obstacle to sustainable human development, and is thus a serious impediment to the realization of all human rights,

1. Welcomes 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 (A/HRC/11/10);

2. Takes note with appreciation of the proposed elements for a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between foreign debt and human rights, and encourages the independent expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights to continue to develop them with a view to addressing the debt crisis in a just, equitable and sustainable manner;

3. Welcomes the areas of focus identified by the independent expert for the period 2009-2010, in particular the development of the draft general guidelines on foreign debt and human rights and the issue of illegitimate debt, and, in that regard, calls on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to assist the independent expert in the organization and holding of regional consultations on these issues, including through the allocation of sufficient budgetary resources;

4. 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;

5. Recognizes that structural-adjustment reform programmes 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;

6. Affirms that the current global financial and economic 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;

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7. Expresses its concern that the level of implementation and the reduction of overall debt stock under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative are still low, and that the Initiative is not intended to offer a comprehensive solution to the long-term debt burden;

8. Reiterates its conviction that, for heavily indebted poor countries to achieve debt sustainability, long-term growth and poverty reduction goals, the debt relief under the above-mentioned Initiative will not be sufficient and that additional resource transfers, in the form of grants and concessional loans and the removal of trade barriers and better prices for their exports, would be required to ensure sustainability and permanent exit from debt overhang;

9. Regrets the absence of mechanisms to find appropriate solutions to the unsustainable foreign debt burden of middle- and low-income heavily indebted countries, and that, to date, little headway has been made in redressing the unfairness of the current system of debt resolution, which continues to place the interests of the lenders above those of indebted countries and the poor in them, and therefore calls for an intensification of efforts to devise effective and equitable mechanisms to cancel or reduce substantially the foreign debt burden of all developing countries, in particular those severely affected by the devastation of natural disasters, such as tsunamis and hurricanes, and by armed conflicts;

10. Acknowledges that, in least developed countries and in several low- and middle-income countries, unsustainable levels of external debt continue to create a considerable barrier to economic and social development and increase the risk that the Millennium Development Goals for development and poverty reduction will not be attained;

11. 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 the development goals, including those set out in the United Nations Millennium Declaration, 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;

12. Recalls once again the call on industrialized countries, as expressed in the Millennium Declaration, to implement the enhanced programme of debt relief for the heavily indebted poor countries without further delay and to agree to cancel all official bilateral debts of those countries in return for their making demonstrable commitments to poverty reduction;

13. 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 the 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;

14. Recalls the pledge contained in the Political Declaration annexed to General Assembly resolution S-24/2, adopted on 1 July 2000 by the Assembly, to find effective,

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equitable, development-oriented and durable solutions to the external debt and debt-servicing burdens of developing countries;

15. Stresses the need for the economic reform programmes arising from foreign debt to be country-driven and for any negotiations and conclusion of debt relief and new loan agreements to be formulated with public knowledge and transparency, with legislative frameworks, institutional arrangements and mechanisms for consultation being established to ensure the effective participation of all components of society, including people’s legislative bodies and human rights institutions, and particularly of the most vulnerable or disadvantaged, in the design, application and evaluation of strategies, policies and programmes, as well as in the follow-up to and systematic national supervision of their implementation, and for macroeconomic and financial policy issues to be integrated, on an equal footing and in a consistent way, in the realization of broader social development goals, taking into account the national context and the priorities and needs of the debtor countries to allocate resources in a way that ensures balanced development conducive to the overall realization of human rights;

16. Also 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;

17. Further 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;

18. 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;

19. Calls upon creditors, particularly international financial institutions, and debtors alike to consider the preparation of human rights impact assessments with regard to development projects, loan agreements or Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers;

20. Reaffirms that the exercise of the basic rights of the people of debtor countries to food, housing, clothing, employment, education, health services and a healthy environment cannot be subordinated to the implementation of structural adjustment policies, growth programmes and economic reforms arising from the debt;

21. 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 can be released and used for health care, research and treatment of the population in the affected countries;

22. 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;

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23. 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;

24. 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;

25. Also requests the independent expert to continue to seek the views and suggestions of States, international organizations, United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, regional economic commissions, international and regional financial institutions and non-governmental organizations on the draft general guidelines and his proposal of possible elements for consideration, and urges them to respond to his requests;

26. 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 Council and its Advisory Committee on issues relating to economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development in his work towards the elaboration of the draft general guidelines;

27. Requests the independent expert to report to the General Assembly on the issue of 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;

28. 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;

29. 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 his mandate;

30. Requests the independent expert to submit an analytical report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Council in 2009 in accordance with its annual programme of work, and to submit a progress report thereon to the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session;

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

27th meeting 17 June 2009

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 31 to 13, with 2 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour: Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, South Africa, Uruguay, Zambia;

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Against: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;

Abstaining: Chile, Mexico.]

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