A/HRC/RES/28/8 1. Takes note 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, 2 and welcomes the work and contributions of the Independent Expert; 2. Recalls the endorsement of the Human Rights Council, in its resolution 20/10 of 5 July 2012, of the guiding principles on foreign debt and human rights; 3 3. Reiterates its encouragement to all Governments, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes and the private sector to take into consideration the guiding principles when designing policies and programmes; 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 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; 6. Reaffirms the fact that responses to the 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; 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 longterm 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 low- and middle-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 those countries, 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. 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 3 A/HRC/28/59. A/HRC/20/23, annex. 3