NEW YORK (23 October 2023) – As the world emerges from the Covid-19 crisis, life has got harder for people as living standards fall, debt payments cannot be made and debt bonds and currencies are...

NASSAU (31 August 2023) – A UN expert today called on the international community to step up support for the Bahamas and small island States at high risk of natural disasters due to climate change....

GENEVA (18 August 2023) – The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt, other financial obligations and human rights, Attiya Waris, will visit the Bahamas from 21 to 31 August 2023. During her visit...

In the context of multiple crises affecting the world, this report will focus on interventions already in place that need to be strengthened and other, newer ones that need to be not just considered but implemented with some urgency in order to prevent the continued loss of human rights gains that is already happening across the world. There is a need for an international approach to fiscal matters, foreign debt and international financial obligations that will trigger a timely turnaround through course correction and continued vigilance, with a constant and steady eye on the most vulnerable.

VADUZ (26 June 2023) – Liechtenstein has made efforts to address the financial secrecy that has negatively affected its reputation, but more can be done, a UN expert on foreign debt said today. “It is...

GENEVA (16 June 2023)– The UN Independent Expert on foreign debt, other financial obligations and human rights, Attiya Waris, will visit Liechtenstein from 19 to 26 June 2023. During her visit, Waris...

GENEVA (8 June 2023) – UN experts* today called on New York State authorities to adopt legislation designed to ensure that private creditors participate in international debt relief efforts on similar...

AFTERNOON 3 April 2023 The Human Rights Council this afternoon adopted 22 resolutions, extending mandates on South Sudan, Nicaragua, human rights defenders, minority issues, torture, freedom of...

In the present report, the Independent Expert states that the accumulation of stolen assets and illicit transfer of funds to foreign jurisdictions and countries undermines State obligations to mobilize maximum available resources for the progressive realization of human rights. She presents a set of 13 draft non-binding and practical guidelines on human rights and the repatriation of State assets that are consistent with existing international human rights law in this context.

In her report, the Independent Expert reflects on issues such as the lack of transparency of cross-border financial transactions, the difficulty of prosecuting cases involving illicit financial flows in the digital world and taxing digital platforms or companies, as well as the lack of access to technological resources in developing countries and increasing socioeconomic inequalities. The report also focuses on new digital lending practices, digital financial services, cryptocurrencies, blockchains, non-fungible tokens and encryption systems, among others.