RES/27/30 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 activities of vulture funds

GE.14-18099 (E)



Human Rights Council Twenty-seventh session

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

27/30

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 activities of

vulture funds

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the

Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the United Nations Declaration on the

Right to Development,

Recalling the determination expressed in the Preamble to the Charter to promote

social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and to employ international

machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,

Recalling also the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social

and Cultural Rights and other relevant international human rights instruments,

Recalling further General Assembly resolution 68/304 entitled “Towards the

establishment of a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes”,

adopted on 9 September 2014,

Reaffirming all resolutions and decisions adopted by the Commission on Human

Rights and the Human Rights Council 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, the most recent being Council resolution 25/16 of 15

April 2014,

Welcoming the work and commending the 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,

in particular the conclusions and recommendations of his report with a thematic focus on

vulture funds,1 in which he aimed to draw global attention to the negative impact of the

activities of vulture funds on international debt relief efforts and on the capacity of indebted

poor countries that have benefited from debt relief to create the necessary conditions for the

realization of human rights, including the right to development,

Noting the concern expressed in the declaration that Heads of State and Government

of the Group of 77 and China issued on the occasion of the summit entitled “For a New

World Order for Living Well”, held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Plurinational State of

Bolivia, on 14 and 15 June 2014,2 that reiterates the importance of not allowing vulture

funds to paralyse the debt restructuring efforts of developing countries, and that these funds

should not supersede the State’s right to protect its people under international law,

Recognizing the sovereign right of any State to restructure its sovereign debt, which

should not be frustrated or impeded by any measure emanating from another State,

Affirming that debt burden contributes to extreme poverty and hunger and is an

obstacle to sustainable human development, to the realization of the Millennium

Development Goals and to the right to development, and is thus a serious impediment to the

realization of all human rights,

Encouraging all Governments, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and

programmes and the private sector, when designing policies and programmes, to take into

consideration the guiding principles on foreign debt and human rights,3 in particular

paragraphs 6, 8 and 20 thereof, that were endorsed by the Human Rights Council in its

resolution 20/10 of 10 July 2012,

Noting that the international financial system does not have a sound legal framework

for the orderly and predictable restructuring of sovereign debt, which further increases the

economic and social cost of non-compliance,

Expressing its concern about the voluntary nature of international debt relief

schemes, which has created opportunities for vulture funds to acquire defaulted sovereign

debt at vastly reduced prices and then seek repayment of the full value of the debt through

litigation, seizure of assets or political pressure,

Taking into account the fact that vulture funds, through litigation and other means,

oblige indebted countries to divert financial resources saved from debt cancellation and

diminish the impact of, or dilute the potential gains from, debt relief for these countries,

thereby undermining the capacity of Governments to guarantee the full enjoyment of

human rights of the population,

Welcoming the research proposal on the activities of vulture funds and human rights

proposed by the Advisory Committee in its action 13/7 at its thirteenth session4 and

submitted to the Human Rights Council for its consideration,

1. Condemns the activities of vulture funds for the direct negative effect that the

debt repayment to those funds, under predatory conditions, has on the capacity of

Governments to fulfil their human rights obligations, particularly economic, social and

cultural rights and the right to development;

2. Reaffirms in this context 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

1 A/HRC/14/21.

2 See A/68/948, annex.

3 A/HRC/20/23, annex.

4 See A/HRC/AC/13/2.

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;

3. Encourages all States to participate in the negotiations aimed at establishing

a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes, as referred to in

General Assembly resolution 68/304, and invites States participating in the negotiations to

ensure that such a multilateral legal framework will be compatible with existing

international human rights obligations and standards;

4. Requests the Advisory Committee to prepare a research-based report on the

activities of vulture funds and the impact on human rights, and to present a progress report

of that research to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-first session for its consideration;

5. Also requests the Advisory Committee to seek the views and inputs of

Member States, United Nations agencies, relevant international and regional organizations,

the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant

special procedures, including 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, as well as national human rights

institutions and non-governmental organizations, in the preparation of the above-mentioned

research-based report.

41st meeting

26 September 2014

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 33 to 5, with 9 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Algeria, Argentina, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chile, China,

Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Indonesia,

Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia,

Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone,

South Africa, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of),

Viet Nam

Against:

Czech Republic, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland, United States of America

Abstaining:

Austria, Estonia, France, Ireland, Italy, Montenegro, Republic of Korea,

Romania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia]