A/70/275
its Advisory Committee to prepare a research-based report on the activities of
vulture funds and their impact on human rights, seeking the views and inputs, inter
alia, from the Independent Expert and other stakeholders.
25. In line with that resolution, on 25 February 2015, at the fourteenth session of
the Advisory Committee, the Independent Expert presented a paper on vulture funds
and human rights, 12 in which he recommended that the Committee: (a) undertake a
more comprehensive empirical analysis about litigation by vulture funds and their
impact on human rights, covering not only heavily indebted poor countries; (b) carry
out a more comprehensive legal analysis from the perspective of international law
and human rights law; and (c) elaborate suggestions for States to consider regulative,
legislative or other measures within their jurisdictions in order to limit the
disruptive effects of vulture fund litigation.
E.
Third International Conference on Financing for Development
26. In its resolution 25/9, the Human Rights Council requested the Independent
Expert to participate in the third International Conference on Financing for
Development, held in Addis Ababa from 13 to 16 July 2015. In this context, on
26 May 2015, the Independent Expert submitted his views on the draft outcome
document of the Conference under negotiation by Member States and later
participated in two round tables during the Conference, as well as relevant side events. 13
27. The Independent Expert stressed the importance of the International
Conference for the mobilization of necessary resources to ensure that the future
sustainable development goals of the United Nations can be met. Human rights must
be at the core of development financing, ensuring the enjoyment of d ecent life for
everyone, free from hunger and with access to education, health care, housing and
drinking water. The main message was that international development financing is
not just about more resources. In this context, he reiterated the principle en shrined
in the United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development, which is that the
human being is the central subject of development and should be its active
participant and beneficiary.
28. One of the ambitions of the conference was to ensure that international
agreements, rules and standards are consistent with each other and with progress
towards the soon-to-be adopted sustainable development goals. The Independent
Expert welcomed the fact that the outcome document of the Conference, the Addis
Ababa Action Agenda, 14 contained an upfront commitment to human rights, but
regretted that this commitment did not always find adequate reflection in some of its
substantive sections. He appreciated the emphasis that the Addis Ababa Action
Agenda gives to combating illicit financial flows and improving the fairness,
transparency and efficiency of taxation systems, but regretted that language on
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14
8/18
See “Vulture funds and human rights”, 25 February 2015, available from http://www.ohchr.org/
Documents/Issues/Development/IEDebt/VultureFundsAndHumanRights2014.pdf.
See “Human rights must be at the core of development financing ”, comments by Juan Pablo
Bohoslavsky on the revised draft outcome document of the third International Conference on
Financing for Development”, available from http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IEDebt/
Paper3FFD22May2015.pdf.
A/CONF.227/L.1, annex, endorsed by the General Assembly on 27 July 2015.
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