A/HRC/11/10 page 21 submit comments on these reports. Article 22 provides that the United Nations Economic and Social Council may furnish the specialized agencies with such information from the State reports as may assist them to decide on international measures likely to contribute to the implementation of the Covenant.42 74. In its general comment No. 2 on article 22 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has indicated that the provision “should be interpreted so as to include virtually all United Nations organs and agencies involved in any aspect of international development cooperation”, including agencies such as the World Bank and the IMF (see paragraph 2). Stressing the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, the Committee has further urged that the United Nations agencies involved in the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights should do their utmost to ensure that their activities are fully consistent with the enjoyment of civil and political rights. Thus, international agencies “should scrupulously avoid involvement in projects” that infringe human rights, and they should promote projects and approaches which contribute not only to economic growth and other defined objectives, but also to enhanced enjoyment of all human rights (see paragraph 6). In a similar vein, the Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated that the World Bank Group, the IMF and the World Trade Organization should ensure that their activities related to international cooperation and economic development promote the full implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.43 75. It is important to note that both the World Bank and the IMF are established by Governments that constitute their decision-making bodies. These Governments have undertaken various human rights obligations that cannot be neglected or ignored simply by operating through the medium of an organization. Thus, for example, the European Court of Human Rights has held that the human rights obligations of Member States continue even after the transfer of competences to international organizations.44 42 See also article 40 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that “[t]he Secretary-General of the United Nations may, after consultation with the Committee, transmit to the specialized agencies concerned copies of such parts of the reports as may fall within their field of competence”. 43 Convention on the Rights of the Child general comment No. 5 (2003), para. 64 (CRC/GC/2003/5). 44 See Mathews v. United Kingdom, ECtHR Application No. 24833/94, Grand Chamber judgment of 18 February 1999, paras. 29, 32 and 34; Waite and Kennedy v. Germany, ECtHR Application No. 26083/94, Grand Chamber judgment of 18 February 1999, para. 67; Bosphorus Airways v. Ireland, ECtHR Application No. 45036/98, Grand Chamber judgment of 30 June 2005, paras. 152-156; see also para. 19 of the Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which states that “[t]he obligations of States to protect economic, social and cultural rights extend to their participation in international organizations, where they act collectively”.

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