A/HRC/11/37 Affirming that debt burden further complicates the numerous problems facing developing countries, contributes to extreme poverty and is an obstacle to sustainable human development, and is thus a serious impediment to the realization of all human rights, 1. Welcomes the 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 (A/HRC/11/10); 2. Takes note with appreciation of the proposed elements for a conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between foreign debt and human rights, and encourages the independent expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights to continue to develop them with a view to addressing the debt crisis in a just, equitable and sustainable manner; 3. Welcomes the areas of focus identified by the independent expert for the period 2009–2010, in particular the development of the draft general guidelines on foreign debt and human rights and the issue of illegitimate debt, and, in that regard, calls on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to assist the independent expert in the organization and holding of regional consultations on these issues, including through the allocation of sufficient budgetary resources; 4. Recalls that every State has the primary responsibility to promote the economic, social and cultural development of its people, and, to that end, has the right and responsibility to choose its means and goals of development and should not be subject to external specific prescriptions for economic policy; 5. Recognizes that structural-adjustment reform programmes limit public expenditure, impose fixed expenditure ceilings and give inadequate attention to the provision of social services, and that only a few countries manage to achieve sustainable higher growth under these programmes; 6. Affirms that the current global financial and economic crises should not result in a decrease in debt relief, nor should they be used as an excuse to stop debt relief measures, as that would have negative implications for the enjoyment of human rights in affected countries; 7. Expresses its concern that the level of implementation and the reduction of overall debt stock under the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative are still low, and that the Initiative is not intended to offer a comprehensive solution to the longterm debt burden; 8. Reiterates its conviction that, for heavily indebted poor countries to achieve debt sustainability, long-term growth and poverty reduction goals, the debt relief under the above-mentioned Initiative will not be sufficient and that additional resource transfers, in the form of grants and concessional loans and the removal of trade barriers and better prices for their exports, would be required to ensure sustainability and permanent exit from debt overhang; 9. Regrets the absence of mechanisms to find appropriate solutions to the unsustainable foreign debt burden of middle- and low-income heavily indebted countries, and that, to date, little headway has been made in redressing the unfairness of the current system of debt resolution, which continues to place the interests of the lenders above those of indebted countries and the poor in them, and therefore calls for an intensification of efforts to devise effective and equitable mechanisms to cancel or reduce substantially the foreign debt burden of all developing countries, in particular those severely affected by the devastation of natural disasters, such as tsunamis and hurricanes, and by armed conflicts; 18 GE.09-16766