A/70/275 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted to the General Assembly pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 25/16, in which the Council requested 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 to report regularly to the Council and the Assembly. The report provides an overview of the activities undertaken by the Independent Expert between August 2014 and July 2015, followed by reflections of the Independent Expert on the legitimacy of the principles of pacta sunt servanda (translated as “agreements (or promises) must be kept”), legitimacy, sustainability and human rights in the context of international debt obligations. 2. In addition to his core mandate, as outlined in Human Rights Council resolution 25/16, the Independent Expert was requested by the Council, in its resolutions 25/9, 26/7, 27/30, 28/5 and 28/8, to: (a) consider, inter alia, the impact of illicit financial flows on the enjoyment of human rights; (b) contribute to and participate in the third International Conference on Financing for Develo pment and its follow-up process; and (c) provide inputs to the work of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council, which has been requested to undertake a study on the impact of so-called vulture funds on the enjoyment of human rights, a topic that has been followed by the mandate holder for several years. 3. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 69/247, the Ad Hoc Committee on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes has been established for the purpose of negotiating a multilateral legal framework on sovereign debt restructuring processes. The outcomes of the sessions of the Ad Hoc Committee have g iven new impetus to the discussions being held at the international level relating to the need for timely, orderly, effective and fair debt restructuring procedures. Such debt restructuring procedures should be compatible with existing human rights obligations and standards, as stressed by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 27/30. II. Activities by the Independent Expert A. Thematic reports 4. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 25/9 and 25/16, the Independent Expert submitted two thematic reports to the twenty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/28/59 and A/HRC/28/60 and Corr.1). 5. The first report, on financial complicity (A/HRC/28/59), focused on the question of lending to States engaged in gross human rights violations. The report was intended to contribute to a better understanding of when financial support may contribute to, or sustain the commission of, large-scale gross human rights violations by sketching a rational choice framework premised on the incentives of authoritarian Governments and private and official lenders. In the report, the Independent Expert reviewed the existing empirical evidence of the relationship between sovereign financing, human rights practices and the consolidation of Governments engaged in gross violations of human rights. He also presented some interim conclusions and invited stakeholders to discuss them. The Independent 15-12541 3/18