mobilize the maximum available resources for the implementation of economic, social and cultural rights", and it recommended that it "intensify its efforts, in coordination with its Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, to address global tax abuse".48 Nor is the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights isolated in this regard. A few months after the cited recommendation was addressed to the United Kingdom, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women recommended that Switzerland "Undertake independent, participatory and periodic impact assessments of the extraterritorial effects of its financial secrecy and corporate tax policies on women’s rights and substantive equality, and ensure that such assessments are conducted in an impartial manner with public disclosure of the methodology and finding".49 The recommendation was prompted by a report50 presented by a coalition of non-governmental organisations and a human rights clinic, showing how cross-border tax abuse by corporations and individuals (in various forms including "controversial profit-shifting, fraudulent under-reporting of the value of taxable transactions, and the use of off-shore accounts to hide taxable income"51) have an impact on the ability for developing countries to protect and fulfil women's rights. As the report explained: The loss of revenues to cross-border tax abuse contributes to the underfunding of essential services, institutions, and infrastructure on which women depend, from health care and education to public courts and transportation systems, as well as programs designed specifically to protect and promote women’s rights. Inadequate spending on social services often takes a heavy toll on women in particular, as they typically bear the burden of care-giving and performing unpaid work when public institutions fall short.52 In addition, development cooperation may support efforts at domestic level to combat illicit financial flows. In 2011, development aid contributing to such efforts (by programs strengthening the judiciary or anti-corruption authorities, for instance) represented 11% of total official development assistance (ODA) from OECD countries.53 Such interventions can be highly effective: in Kenya, a 20,000 USD support program led to an increase of 33 million USD in increased tax revenue during a one-year period (2012-2013), which represents a rate of return of 1,650 USD for each dollar spent.54 Here again, however, such efforts could go further. Staff within the relevant public sector authorities could be trained to facilitate investigations in economic crimes and asset recovery. Developing countries could be encouraged to make this a top political priority. Support to local civil society organisations acting as watchdogs to denounce corruption or tax evasion could be increased.55 c) The role of the private sector: financial institutions   Although the main responsibility in tacking illicit financial flows lies with governments, the private sector -- banks and other financial institutions -- also have a role to play in this regard. Indeed, it could be argued that a failure to discharge their responsibilities in this regard is a violation, by these entities, 48 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Concluding Observations on the sixth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UN doc. E/C.12/GBR/CO/6, 14 July 2016), paras. 16-17. 49 CEDAW Concluding Observations on the combined fourth and fifth reports of Switzerland (UN doc. CEDAW/C/CHE/CO/45) (18 November 2016), para. 41. 50 Alliance Sud, Centre for Economic and Social Rights, Global Justice Clinic of New York University School of Law, Public Eye and Tax Justice Network, Swiss Responsibility for the Extraterritorial Impacts of Tax Abuse on Women's Rights, 2 November 2016, available at: http://chrgj.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/switzerland_cedaw_submission_2nov201628.pdf (last consulted on 20 Dec. 2016). 51 Id., at 1. 52 Id., at 2. 53 OECD, Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries: Measuring OECD Responses (OECD Publishing, Paris, 2014). 54 OECD, Development Co-Operation Report 2014. Mobilising Resources for Sustainable Development, cited above (note 11), at 170. 55 OECD, Development Co-Operation Report 2014. Mobilising Resources for Sustainable Development, cited above (note 11), at 162-163. 15 CRIDHO Working Paper 2017/1