A/70/275
tackling the facilitating environment of illicit financial flows in recipient countries,
as well as on secrecy jurisdictions and safe havens, remained relatively weak.
Furthermore, he had also hoped for a clearer cut, time -bound and measurable
commitment to reduce the size of illicit financial flows by 2030.
29. The Independent Expert welcomes the calls incorporated in the Addis Ababa
Action Agenda for debt restructurings to be timely, orderly, effective, fair and
negotiated in good faith, with the objective of restoring public debt sustainability
and preserving access to finance under favourable conditions so that countr ies can
achieve sustainable development. He voiced his disappointment, however, that the
chapter on sovereign debt omits any reference to human rights, most notably the
guiding principles on foreign debt and human rights. 15
F.
Multilateral legal framework for debt restructuring processes
30. On 5 September 2014, the Independent Expert sent a letter to the Chairman of
the Group of 77 and China 16 expressing his views on an initiative by the General
Assembly to establish an international legal regulatory framework for sovereign
debt restructuring processes. In his letter, he supported the idea that the United
Nations system is the correct forum to discuss how to fill the international legal
void with regard to sovereign debt restructuring. He also explained the legal need to
minimize vulture fund litigation and highlighted relevant international human rights
standards in the context of debt restructurings.
31. The Independent Expert also recalled that the issues of foreign debt, debt
relief, debt restructuring and excessive demands by so-called “vulture funds” have
been covered by his mandate for many years and have been the subject of
resolutions of the Human Rights Council, including resolutions 20/10, 23/11 and
27/30.
32. On 26 January 2015, the Independent Expert provided a written submission 17
to the Ad Hoc Committee on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes established by
the General Assembly in its resolution 69/247. The Committee is tasked with
elaborating a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring
processes through a series of intergovernmental negotiations. In his submission, the
Independent Expert discussed the human rights benchmarks States should consider
in drafting the multilateral legal framework, and he proposed the follow ing six
human rights benchmarks:
(a) The new legal framework should include an explicit reference to debt
restructuring and the need to make it compatible with existing human rights
obligations and standards;
(b) Risk assessments and debt sustainability analysis carried out prior to a
debt restructuring should include provisions to ensure human rights impact
assessments;
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16
17
15-12541
A/HRC/20/23, annex.
Available from http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IEDebt/letter_Chairman_of_the_
Group_G77.pdf. See SPB/SHD/GT/ff.
“Towards a multilateral legal framework for debt restructuring: Six human rights benchmarks
States should consider”, available from http://www.ohchr. org/Documents/Issues/Development/
IEDebt/DebtRestructuring.pdf .
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