A/HRC/RES/22/12 1. Takes note with appreciation of the comprehensive study prepared by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights2 and the interim report by 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;1 2. Calls upon all States that have not yet acceded to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to consider doing so as a matter of priority; 3. Asserts the urgent need to repatriate illicit funds to the countries of origin without conditionalities, in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption and in line with the commitments made at the 2005 World Summit and the 2010 High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals to make the fight against corruption a priority at all levels and to curb the illicit transfer of funds, and urges all States to step up their efforts to trace, freeze and recover those funds; 4. Acknowledges the importance of compliance with international human rights law in relation to the repatriation of funds of illicit origin by, inter alia, promoting human rights-based policy coherence in the deliberations and actions by States Members of the Human Rights Council and in the intergovernmental process of implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption; 5. Invites the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to consider ways of adopting a human rights-based approach in the implementation of the Convention, including when dealing with the repatriation of funds of illicit origin, and appreciates the continued efforts of the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Asset Recovery of the Conference to assist States parties in fulfilling their obligations under the Convention to prevent, detect and deter in a more effective manner the international transfer of funds of illicit origin and to strengthen international cooperation in asset recovery, bearing in mind that, regardless of the capacities, resources and willingness of the requesting State’s institutions and authorities, there is a victim society that is suffering the consequences of the transfer of those funds; 6. Welcomes the decision made at the fourth session of the Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption to convene open-ended intergovernmental expert meetings on international cooperation to advise and assist States with regard to extradition and mutual legal assistance, and notes with appreciation the Stolen Assets Recovery Initiative of the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and encourages coordination among existing initiatives; 7. Realizes that, while illicit financial outflows from the least developed countries may account for only a small portion of all outflows of funds of illicit origin worldwide, they have a particularly negative impact on social development and the realization of social, economic and cultural rights in these countries, given the size of their economies, and expresses deep concern that such outflows, as estimated by the United Nations Development Programme, exceed the total official development assistance received by many of the least developed countries and, in some cases, surpass their debt service payments; 8. Underscores that the repatriation of funds of illicit origin would provide States that have undergone regime change with a further opportunity to improve the realization of economic, social and cultural rights and to fulfil their obligation to meet the legitimate aspirations of their peoples; 9. Acknowledges the important role that civil society can play in exposing corruption and drawing attention to the negative impact of the non-repatriation of funds of illicit origin on the rule of law and the realization of economic, social and cultural rights; 4