A/HRC/43/45/Add.2 and policy constraints in the development process.8 It has been observed that mineral-rich countries that have succeeded in consolidating sustainable growth have provided incentives for productive investment and economic diversification, safeguarded macroeconomic stability, been successful in establishing consensus among social and economic groups, and invested in comprehensive social policies.9 12. The growth rate reached significant peaks over the past years, culminating at 17 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2015. During the 2010s, Mongolia also recorded considerable progress on the human development index, going from 0.697 in 2010 to 0.741 in 2017. Yet, on average, almost a third of the population lives in poverty, while in some regions approximately half of the population lives below the poverty line.10 13. The economy was repeatedly affected by mineral price cycles and economic downturns, including three periods of low GDP growth (below 2.5 per cent), in 1996, 2000 and 2009, the most considerable having been -1.3 per cent in 2009. More recently, due to the sharp fall of mineral prices in 2015 and 2016, the growth rate fell by 16 points to 1.2 per cent of GDP in 2016, while public debt amounted to 87 per cent of GDP. The economy and State revenues were once again deeply affected and the mineral rent cycle translated into negative consequences for the population, as suggested by several indicators. 14. More specifically, during the latest period of economic hardship, the maternal mortality ratio almost doubled, going from 26 to 48.6 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births from 2015 to 2016. An increase was also observed in the under-5 mortality rate. Economic inequality11 and poverty increased, despite having been on a downward trend over the past decade, with the national poverty rate going from 21.6 per cent in 2014 to 29.6 per cent in 2016.12 Furthermore, although the prevalence of undernourishment had been decreasing until 2013, the rate stabilized in the following years.13 15. In this downturn context, on 24 May 2017, Mongolia entered into a three-year arrangement of $425 million with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Extended Fund Facility. It is part of a $5.5 billion multi-donor financing package comprising loans from a range of financial institutions, including the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Japan, and Korea,14 that supports the Government’s economic recovery plan aimed at restoring economic stability and confidence. 16. This plan included a range of measures, from fiscal consolidation to changes in the social programme architecture. It comprised efforts aiming at better targeting the “Child Money Programme”, a public sector wage freeze, the suspension of civil servants’ grade advancement and a restriction on hiring. The plan also included a projected increase in the retirement age, which had the potential to translate into concrete impacts on the human rights of children, older persons and women, the latter of whom often work in the public sector, mainly in education and health sector. 17. The increase in the retirement age to 65 years old, as advised by IMF, was later reversed, but remained an important concern for the population. As some of the Independent Expert’s interlocutors underlined, given the life expectancy of 66 years old for men and 74 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 4 Katja Hujo “Introduction and overview: blessing or curse? Financing social policies in mineral-rich countries”, in Mineral Rents and the Financing of Social Policy: Social Policy in a Development Context, Katja Hujo, ed. (London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2012). United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), “Mineral rents and the financing of social policy: options and constraints”, Research and Policy Brief, No. 16 (Geneva, 2012). World Bank Group, “Mongolia’s 2018 poverty rate estimated at 28.4 percent”, 21 June 2019. World Bank Group, “GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$)”, DataBank. Available at https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNP.PCAP.CD?locations=MN (accessed on 30 December 2019). Mongolia, Voluntary National Review Report 2019, p. 19. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “SDG country profile: Mongolia”. Available at https://country-profiles.unstatshub.org/mng. In addition, the People’s Bank of China agreed to extend its swap line with the Bank of Mongolia.