A/HRC/30/44 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 18/6, 21/9, 25/15 and 27/9, the Independent Expert has endeavoured to identify obstacles to the realization of a democratic and equitable international order, including lack of transparency and accountability (A/HRC/21/45 and A/67/277), lack of genuine democratic participation in domestic and global decision-making (A/HRC/24/38), asymmetric economic, financial and trade practices (A/68/284), military expenditures (A/HRC/27/51) and denial of self-determination (A/69/272). 2. In this report, the Independent Expert addresses the adverse impacts of free trade and investment agreements, whether bilateral or multilateral, on the international order. The report to the General Assembly will focus on the impacts of investor–State dispute settlement arbitrations. The Independent Expert has relied on the advice of economists and given attention to the reports of other Special Procedures mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur on the right to food (A/HRC/19/59/Add.5 and A/HRC/10/5/Add.2); the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;1 the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation;2 the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights;3 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;4 the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (A/HRC/29/25); the former Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises;5 and the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises (A/HRC/29/28, paras. 30–31). He strongly endorses articles 1 to 10 of the 2011 Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (A/HRC/17/31, annex) and the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework.6 He relies on pertinent general comments and concluding observations of treaty bodies including the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Committee on the Rights of the Child. He welcomes the perceptive diagnoses, recent conferences and pertinent reform initiatives by UNCTAD. 7 3. Advocates of free trade and investment agreements may question the analysis in this report because of a lack of hands-on experience. Critics, however, cannot delegitimize the 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 4 A/69/299, A/HRC/11/12 and A/HRC/20/15/Add.2. See also E/CN.4/2005/51/Add.3 and www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/SForum/SForum2015/DainiusPuras.pdf. “Extraterritorial violations may occur, for example, when … (d) States fail to respect human rights or restrict the ability of others to comply with their human rights obligations in the process of elaborating, applying and interpreting international trade and investment agreements” (A/HRC/27/55, para. 71). “States should take into account their international human rights obligations when designing and implementing all policies, including international trade, taxation, fiscal, monetary, environmental and investment policies�� (A/HRC/21/39, para. 61). Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky and Juan Bautista Justo, “The conventionality control of investment arbitrations: enhancing coherence through dialogue”, Transnational Dispute Management, vol. 10, No. 1 (2013), pp. 1–12. John Ruggie. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Business/Pages/SRSGTransCorpIndex.aspx. business-humanrights.org/en/un-secretary-generals-special-representative-on-business-humanrights/un-protect-respect-and-remedy-framework-and-guiding-principles. UNCTAD, World Investment Report 2015, Trade and Development Report 2014.