A/HRC/36/40 promotion of respect for human rights. According to Article 103 of the UN Charter, the obligations of States under the Charter, including obligations in the field of human rights, take primacy over other international obligations. Linking Legal Obligations in the Field of Human Rights to Economic and Political Realities 9. Markets are to ensure economic effectiveness in processes of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. From a macro-economic perspective they may contribute to generally improved living conditions. To ensure, however, that outcomes of economic processes also conform to standards of social justice and meet obligations in regard to the daily livelihoods of poor people, human rights standards must be an integral part of decision-making by actors in market-oriented environments. 10. While most governments have ratified human rights conventions, the status of human rights in many societies — in all its dimensions — remains precarious at best. The implementation of rights is often impeded by weak legal systems, particularly relating to the poor, the powerless, minorities and indigenous peoples as well as to the realisation of the right to a clean environment. The negative experience with capacity building and institutional development is a major problem for any discussion on the mainstreaming of human rights in development institutions. 11. Practice often shows that one part of government does not necessarily know what another part is doing, even if both parts are working in the same field. One segment of the government might even be resistant to what another governmental agency is doing. Often, governments do not ensure that all relevant departments are familiar with international human rights norms that bear upon policy-making processes. This is a problem in all States in the world, albeit in varying degrees. 12. When the UN was created, it was endowed, through its Charter, with a mandate to deal with problems of international co-operation, in particular economic and social cooperation. Today, much of the economic policy dialogue has shifted to the World Bank and the IMF (and to the WTO, which is not addressed in these Guiding Principles). 13. The World Bank and the IMF currently also address global concerns that are within the expertise of different UN organs and Specialised Agencies, inter alia, security, environment, social policy, gender, development, poverty reduction, debt relief, health and educational issues. They exert significant influence on these issues either directly, by setting actual policies, or indirectly, by prescribing economic policy directives. 14. In practice, there is a striking asymmetry of power and influences between the UN and both IFIs. The World Bank and the IMF have considerable resources available to fulfil their mandates and they dispose of powerful means to have their decisions enforced. The UN on the other hand has only a limited budget, apart maybe from the UN Security Council, which is insufficient to effectively perform the wide spectrum of functions it is expected to fulfil. 15. There is a troubling lack of dialogue and co-ordination between the UN and the two IFIs. The World Bank and the IMF, albeit UN Specialised Agencies, exhibit a large degree of independence from the UN. Based on their interpretation of the Relationship Agreements with the UN, the IFIs have contrived to distance themselves from many UN resolutions and recommendations that reflect the broad wishes of the international community. 16. Although the World Bank and the IMF increasingly adopt partnerships with other organisations, including those within the UN system, these partnerships often mean that the IFIs set the policy directions while the respective partner organisation is tasked with the implementation. Partnership in the design of policy directions is rare. Evaluation and Redress of Adverse Human Rights Impacts 17. Rights and obligations demand accountability, while it is up to the duty-holders to determine which accountability mechanisms are most appropriate in particular cases. In any case, however, these mechanisms must be accessible, transparent and effective. 30