Following the interpretation the CESCR provides, international assistance and cooperation obligations are not the same for all states.54 As noted by the Committee, the obligation to provide ‘international assistance and cooperation, especially economic and technical’ is different for developing and developed states (‘those in a position to assist’).55 States Parties to the ICESCR, CRC and CRPD that lack the necessary resources for economic, social and cultural rights realisation are obliged to ‘actively seek assistance’ to ensure economic, social and cultural rights assertion on the part of everyone under their jurisdictions.56 According to the CESCR, states in need of international assistance should make efforts to obtain it.57 These obligations are further explored below. Obligations of ‘those in a position to assist’ It is not easy to determine the implications of the reference to international assistance and cooperation with regard to those states that are ‘in a position to assist and cooperate with others’ (ie, developed states). As noted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, the duty to provide assistance is still imperfectly defined in international law and ‘in need of being further clarified’.58 In recent years, the CESCR and CRPD have used stricter language regarding international assistance and cooperation obligations, suggesting that, under their respective treaties, there is an obligation to provide the equivalent of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) to development assistance.59 In the same vein, the Independent Expert on solidarity has taken the concept of international cooperation one step further, by means of a draft declaration on the right of peoples and individuals to international solidarity.60 Still, it is difficult to maintain there is a clear-cut position between human rights monitoring bodies on this topic. It seems evident that obligations regarding international assistance and cooperation require further development by human rights treaty monitoring bodies in order to determine whether states are under an obligation to provide international assistance in particular circumstances or at certain levels. Moreover, human rights monitoring bodies should also be prepared to address new and emerging challenges related to international 54 For a comprehensive analysis of the obligations pertaining to international assistance and cooperation under the ICESCR, see Magdalena Sepúlveda, ‘The obligations of “international assistance and cooperation” under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. A possible entry point for a human rights based approach to Millennium Development Goal No 8’, (2009) 13(1) The International Journal on Human Rights 86. 55 See, eg, CESCR General Comment No 14, para 45; CESCR, General Comment No 15, para 38. See also Statement adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on 4 May 2001 on ‘substantive issues arising in the implementation of the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights: poverty and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ E/C.12/2001/10, paras 15–18. 56 See, eg, CESCR Concluding Observations Ukraine E/1996/22, para 271; Concluding Observations Guyana E/C.12/ GUY/CO/2-4 (2015); and Concluding Observations Uganda E/C.12/UGA/CO/1 (2015). 57 CESCR, General Comment No 2: Informational technical assistance measures (Art 22) (1990) UN Doc E/1990/23, para 10. 58 ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter’ (‘The role of development cooperation and food aid in realizing the right to adequate food: moving from charity to obligation’) (2009) UN Doc A/HRC/10/5, para 8. 59 See, eg, CESCR, General Comment No 22 on the right to sexual and reproductive health (Art 12 of the ICESCR) (2016) UN Doc E/C.12/GC/22 para 50; and CRPD, General Comment on Article 6: Women with disabilities (2015), para 58. Until recently, the ICESCR considered the target of 0.7 per cent of GNP as a UN recommendation and not an obligation imposed by the covenant. See, eg, CESCR General Comment No 14, para 40. 60 ‘Report of the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, Virginia Dandan’ (2013) UN Doc A/68/176. December 2017   The Obligation to Mobilise Resources: Bridging Human Rights, Sustainable Development Goals, and Economic and Fiscal Policies 33