A/70/275 Report of 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 Summary The present report provides an overview of the activities undertaken by 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, from August 2014 to July 2015. During the reporting period the Independent Expert submitted two thematic reports to the Human Rights Council on financial complicity and ill icit financial flows and human rights, undertook official visits to Iceland and China and participated in the third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa. In addition, he contributed to the study of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council on vulture funds and human rights, as requested by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 27/30. The Independent Expert also contributed to the ad hoc committee established by the General Assembly in its resolution 69/247, tasked with elaborating a multilateral legal framework for sovereign debt restructuring processes, through a process of intergovernmental negotiations. In this context, the report concludes with reflections by the Independent Expert on the principle of pacta sunt servanda (often translated as “agreements (or promises) must be kept”) in connection with human rights and the principles of legitimacy and sustainability in the context of sovereign debt obligations, with particular attention to debt restructuring. In his view, an “absolutist” view of the principle of pacta sunt servanda does not form part of positive law nor is it part of customary international law. Debt contracts exist in a broader legal and economic universe, in which human rights law, the agency relationship between States and their populations and economic constraints interact with the rights of creditors. This dialogue should take place within the legal framework provided in international law for the solution of normative conflicts. 2/18 15-12541