A/HRC/37/54 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 Contents Page I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Evolution in structural adjustment responses to financial crises and mitigation of adverse social impact .............................................................................................. 5 III. Human rights impacts of austerity ................................................................................................ 6 IV. Why human rights should guide economic reform programmes .................................................. 8 A. Legal imperatives.................................................................................................................. 8 B. Economic imperatives........................................................................................................... 10 V. Using human rights impact assessments to strengthen policy responses to financial crises ......... 11 VI. Building on what exists already .................................................................................................... 12 A. Conceptual foundations and tools in existing approaches .................................................... 12 B. Particular challenges for developing and applying a human rights impact assessment to potentially impermissible retrogressive measures .......................................... 14 Designing a human rights impact assessment to assess potentially impermissible retrogressive measures .................................................................................................................. 15 Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................................................... 18 A. Conclusions and way forward ............................................................................................... 18 B. Recommendations................................................................................................................. 19 VII. VIII. 2