A/HRC/25/52 detailed information on the progress made in relation to the recovery of the proceeds of corruption. III. Impact of illicit financial flows on the realization of human rights A. Illicit funds and human rights: making the connection 15. There is a clear link between illicit financial flows and human rights in that such flows diminish the resources available to States for investment in programmes that contribute to the realization of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights. In essence, the failure to counter illicit financial flows and recover stolen assets is a denial of access to basic health care, education, safe water and sanitation, adequate housing and infrastructure,16 all of which are basic conditions for the enjoyment of human rights. 16. Another way of understanding the link between illicit financial flows and human rights is to examine the link between the availability of resources and the capacity of States to address extreme poverty, which is generally considered a human rights concern.17 The connection between illicit financial flows and poverty is evident from the guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights, which state that: “States must take deliberate, specific and targeted steps, individually and jointly, to create an international enabling environment conducive to poverty reduction, including in matters relating to bilateral and multilateral trade, investment, taxation, finance, environmental protection and development cooperation. This includes cooperating to mobilize the maximum of available resources for the universal fulfilment of human rights.” Thus, the guiding principles establish a link between taxation and the mobilization of the maximum available resources. B. The obligation to use the maximum available resources 17. The imperative to counter illicit financial flows and to ensure the recovery of stolen funds derives from the obligation of States to devote their maximum available resources to 16 17 Ignasio Jimu, “Managing proceeds of asset recovery: the case of Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines and Kazakhstan”, Working Paper Series No. 6 (Basel Institute on Governance, 2009), p. 6. Available from www.baselgovernance.org/fileadmin/docs/publications/working_papers/06_Managing_Proceeds_of_ Asset_Recovery.pdf. This is the approach adopted by the International Bar Association. See International Bar Association, Tax Abuses, Poverty and Human Rights: A Report of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute Task Force on Illicit Financial Flows, Poverty and Human Rights (London, 2013). The guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights (A/HRC/21/39) underscore that poverty is a cause and a consequence of violations of human rights and the key human rights principles, as well as an enabling condition for other violations. The human rights at issue include the rights to: life and physical integrity; liberty and security of the person; equal protection before the law, access to justice and effective remedies; recognition as a person before the law; privacy and protection for home and family; an adequate standard of living; adequate food and nutrition; water and sanitation; adequate housing; the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; work and rights at work; social security; and education; as well as to take part in cultural life and enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications. Basic human rights principles affected by poverty include dignity and the universality, indivisibility, interrelatedness and interdependence of all rights; equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons living in extreme poverty; equality between men and women; the rights of the child; the agency and autonomy of persons living in extreme poverty; participation and empowerment; transparency and access to information; and accountability. 7