A/70/275 at risk of falling into poverty and social exclusion has increased to 35.7 per cent, the highest percentage in the eurozone. 9 In fact, the austerity measures appear to have exacerbated the social crisis in Greece and have failed to stimulate the national economy to the benefit of the Greek population. 21. On 2 June 2015, the Independent Expert urged the Government of Greece and its international lenders to make sure that the burden of adjustment is shared in a fair manner, in compliance with the international human righ ts obligations of Greece and creditor States under the International Covenant of Social and Economic Rights, the European Social Charter and other international human rights instruments. The Independent Expert welcomed the establishment of a debt audit commission by the Greek Parliament and reminded international organizations and international financial institutions that human rights must be respected when responsibilities are delegated by States to international bodies, such as the European Stability Mechanism and the European Central Bank. In the view of the Independent Expert, it is time to acknowledge that further debt relief will be necessary to prevent Greece from remaining in an economically and politically unhealthy dependence on creditor institutions for decades. 10 22. On 15 July 2015, the Independent Expert urged the European institutions, the International Monetary Fund and the Greek Government to fully assess the impact of possible new austerity measures to ensure that they do not come at a cost to human rights. He stressed that priority should be given to ensuring that everybody in Greece has access to core minimum levels of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to health care, food and social security. 11 However, recent developments appear to have gone in the opposite direction, with the monetary authorities imposing restrictions that may endanger the supply of medication, energy and food imports. The Independent Expert is also concerned about the impact of the crisis on refugees and immigrants, whose number has increased as a result of the internal armed conflicts and violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in the Middle East and other regions. 23. The Independent Expert would like to thank the Government of Greece for inviting him to carry out a country visit from 30 November to 7 December 2015 to study the situation in detail. D. Submission to the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council 24. On 3 October 2014, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 27/30, in which it condemned 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. The Coun cil also requested __________________ 9 10 11 15-12541 Data published by Eurostat on the basis of the 2008-2013 EU-SILC Survey, available from http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/income_social_inclusion_living_conditions/ introduction. See “Greek crisis: Human rights should not stop at doors of international institutions”, 2 June 2015, available from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx? NewsID=16032. See “‘Not at the cost of human rights’— UN expert warns against more austerity measures for Greece”, 15 July 2015, available from http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/ DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16238. 7/18