Integrating human rights in financing for development

Under core human rights treaties, States acting individually and collectively are obligated to mobilise and allocate the maximum available resources for the progressive realisation of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as the advancement of civil and political rights and the right to development.

To eradicate poverty, achieve the SDGS, and fulfil their human rights commitments, States and other stakeholders will need to cooperate at all levels to effectively mobilise all available resources in order to finance development that benefits all persons.

Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development

Amidst growing crises, the outcome of the fourth international conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) will directly affect the ability of many States, in particular developing countries, to fulfil their human rights obligations and to achieve sustainable development, for present and future generations.  The outcome of FfD4 must be grounded in international human rights standards and commitments, including the right to development and the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

To assist Member States in their negotiation, OHCHR’s Key Messages for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development offer the essential actions for building a global financing framework anchored in human rights. These actions build on Member States’ existing human rights obligations and commitments, as contained in the 2015 Addis Ababa Action Agenda and other key international agreements.

Building up on the key messages, OHCHR also provided recommendations on the zero draft and the first draft of the FfD4 Outcome Document.

In 2024, the co-facilitators of the FfD4 Outcome Document issued a call for substantive inputs to inform their preparation of an elements paper. In response, OHCHR contributed three policy briefs through the Inter-agency Task Force on Financing for Development:

• Keeping Global Financing Promises: Advancing Development, Human Rights, and International Cooperation: This policy brief argues that the international financial architecture, established decades ago, is no longer fit for addressing today’s complex development challenges. The lack of representation and voice of developing countries in global financial decision-making exacerbates existing inequalities and hampers their ability to shape policies that affect them. Reform of the international financial architecture is needed to ensure that countries have the ability to invest in human rights, for example, health and education as well as the required resources to invest in sustainable development and human rights, including the right to development.
• The human rights case for a reform of the international sovereign debt architecture: This policy brief argues that the international financial architecture requires a radical transformation to resume progress and advance on human rights, including the right to development, climate action and the commitments outlined in the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. There is a need for a multilateral legal framework on sovereign debt, grounded in international human rights principles and standards, where all creditors, including private creditors participate on an equal footing to ensure a fair and effective resolution of debt crisis.
• Human Rights-Based Finance for the Environment: This policy brief advocates for a human rights enhancing approach to financing for sustainable development, emphasizing environmental action that prioritizes vulnerable communities. It calls for mobilizing resources to address historical inequities, ensuring meaningful participation in financing decisions, and implementing safeguards to prevent human rights violations. It recommends reshaping international financial architecture to prioritize concessional financing for those most affected by environmental harm and establishing mechanisms for direct and equitable access to climate finance.

Statements

Right to Development will remain “a distant dream for billions” without a shift in global priorities – High Commissioner

Third International Conference on Financing for Development

In 2015’s Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the outcome document of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD), OHCHR advocated a development financing framework that is consistent with existing human rights agreements, principles and obligations.

OHCHR’s Key Messages on Financing for Development and Human Rights highlight the essential obligations and responsibilities of relevant stakeholders and their implications for FFD.

The High Commissioner’s Open Letter on Human Rights in the Financing for Development Agenda and his Statement to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development emphasise that the ultimate objective of financing development should be a world in which resources are more equitably distributed and all persons enjoy freedom from fear and freedom from want.

At OHCHR’s side event to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, Integrating Human Rights in Financing for Development, OHCHR examined:

• Strengths and weaknesses of human rights considerations in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda
• Long-term human rights implications of the Addis Ababa Action Agenda including its relevance to the post-2015 discussion
• Private sector accountability for human rights and development
• Existing efforts to integrate human rights in financing development and development partnerships.

The side event also featured a panel discussion that was opened and moderated by OHCHR.

The discussion highlighted links between human rights commitments, financing for development, and the broader development agenda in order to promote greater policy coherence and the realisation of all human rights for all persons. From the discussion, it was clear that human rights must be increasingly integrated in FFD and the realisation of human rights for all persons should be the central objective of and is critical to sustainable development.