Over view and Purposes of the Repor t 3 • Comparing allocations and expenditures against international indicators, such as UNDP’s indicator that 5 percent of GDP should go to human expenditures (which for poor countries are specified as basic education, primary health care, and basic water.1) We note that these indicators focus only on government expenditures and international assistance. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 2 and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities3 are both explicit about State parties’ obligations to take steps to use the maximum available resources to ensure economic, social and cultural rights. Further, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has already integrated the concept into one of its General Comments,4 in its Concluding Observations to several State parties reports,5 and held a Day of General Discussion on the topic “Resources for the Rights of the Child Responsibility of States: Investments for the Implementation of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of Children and International Cooperation.” This Committee has expanded the substantive meaning of resources to include “human, technical, organizational, natural and information resources,” and has put special emphasis on the State obligations to contribute to global or extraterritorial implementation of these rights.6 Like the ESCR Committee, however, it has not yet identified the full range of potential financial resources for ESCR realization. Several UN Special Rapporteurs and Independent Experts have also addressed the meaning of ‘maximum available resources.’ The former Special Rapporteur on the Realization of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Danilo Türk noted that: Progressive (as opposed to regressive) measures of taxation can, if supported by adequate administrative machinery and enforcement mechanisms, lead to gentle and gradual forms of income redistribution within States without threatening economic stability or patterns of growth, thereby creating conditions that enable a larger proportion of society to enjoy economic, social and cultural rights.7 Magdalena Sepulveda, the Independent Expert on the Question of Human Rights and Extreme Poverty, has drawn the following conclusions with regard to the obligation of governments to use the ‘maximum of available resources’ to realize ESCR8: • Governments must mobilize resources within the country to its utmost ability. • Government expenditures must be efficient (the ‘efficiency criterion’ could also be applied to revenue collection). • Government expenditures must be effective. • Failure to curb corruption is a failure to comply with the obligation. • Funds earmarked in the budget for ESCR must not be diverted to non-ESCR areas. • Funds earmarked for ESCR must be fully expended for that purpose.