A/HRC/25/50 also emphasized that the human rights obligations of States are relevant in the context of their external debt arrangements,9 and have encouraged creditor countries to do all they can to ensure that the policies and decisions of the international financial institutions of which they are members are consistent with the international human rights obligations of States, for example, under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.10 These observations do not appear to have been contested by any of the States which oppose the Human Rights Council’s consideration of the issue. 11. Fifthly, the declarations, resolutions and decisions of major United Nations conferences and bodies have also confirmed the link between sovereign debt, human rights and development. These include the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which acknowledged the importance of reducing foreign debt particularly where it was aggravated by the net transfer of resources for the benefit of developed countries;11 the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which called upon the international community to make all efforts to help alleviate the external debt burden of developing countries in order to supplement the efforts of the Governments of such countries to attain the full realization of the economic, social and cultural rights of their people;12 and the United Nations Millennium Declaration, which expressed a determination by Member States “to deal comprehensively and effectively with the debt problems of low and middleincome developing countries, through various national and international measures designed to make their debt sustainable in the long term”.13 9 10 11 12 13 6 E/C.12/1/Add.49 (Kyrgyzstan); and E/C.12/1/Add.48 (Sudan); Committee on the Rights of the Child: CRC/C/15/Add.218 (Madagascar); CRC/C/15/Add.204 (Eritrea); CRC/C/Add.207 (Sri Lanka); CRC/C/15/Add.197 (Republic of Korea); CRC/C/15/Add.193 (Burkina Faso); CRC/C/15/Add.190 (Sudan); CRC/C/15/Add.186 (Netherlands/Netherlands Antilles); CRC/C/15/Add.179 (Niger); CRC/C/15/Add.174 (Malawi); CRC/C/15/Add.172 (Mozambique); CRC/C/15/Add.160 (Kenya); CRC/C/15/Add.152 (Turkey); CRC/C/15/Add.138 (Central African Republic); CRC/C/15/Add.130 (Suriname); CRC/C/Add.124 (Georgia); and CRC/C/15/Add.115 (India); Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fiftyseventh Session, Supplement No. 38 (Trinidad and Tobago); ibid., Fifty-sixth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/56/38), part one, para. 227 (Jamaica) and part two, paras. 161 (Guyana) and 227 (Netherlands); ibid., Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/55/38), para. 44 (Cameroon). See also Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fiftyseventh Session, Supplement No. 38 (A/57/38), para. 149. See, for example, E/C.12/1/Add.71, para. 43 (Algeria); E/C.12/1/Add.44, para. 28 (Egypt); E/C.12/1/Add.55. para. 38 (Morocco); and E/C.12/1/Add.57, para. 10 (Honduras). See, for example, E/C.12/1/Add.68 (Germany). See also E/C.12/1/Add.54, para. 31 (Belgium); E/C.12/1/Add.43, para. 20 (Italy); E/C.12/1/Add.70, para. 24 (Sweden); E/C.12/1/Add.72, para. 32 (France); E/C.12/1/Add.77, para. 37 (Ireland); and E/C.12/1/Add.79, para. 26 (United Kingdom). It is further notable that the Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights deem a human rights violation of omission, “[t]he failure of a State to take into account its international legal obligations in the field of economic, social and cultural rights when entering into bilateral or multilateral agreements with other States, international organizations or multinational corporations” (para. 15 (j)). The Maastricht Guidelines on Violations of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provide that: “The obligations of States to protect economic, social and cultural rights extend also to their participation in international organizations, where they act collectively” (para. 19). See Report of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (A/CONF.216/16), 20– 22 June 2012, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, para. 19. Paragraph 13 of the Vienna Declaration underscored the “need for States and international organizations, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, to create favourable conditions at the national, regional and international levels to ensure the full and effective enjoyment of human rights”. General Assembly resolution 55/2 of 8 September 2000, para. 16. See also the Programme for the