A/HRC/42/48 I. Introduction 1. The present report of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order, Livingstone Sewanyana, is submitted to the Human Rights Council in accordance with Council resolution 18/6 and subsequent resolutions 21/9, 25/15, 27/9, 30/29, 33/3, 36/4 and 39/4. It is the second report of the current mandate holder since his appointment by the Council at its thirty-seventh session, in 2018. The Independent Expert is requested to report regularly to the Council and to the General Assembly, pursuant to Council resolution 18/6, paragraph 20 of Council resolution 39/4 and paragraph 22 of General Assembly resolution 73/169. 2. In his vision-setting report to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session, in September 2018 (A/HRC/39/47), the Independent Expert identified six thematic priorities on which he would be focusing over the course of his tenure. One of these priorities concerns public participation and decision-making in traditional multilateral institutions, and another concerns the emergence in previous decades of global governance spaces, such as the Group of Seven (G7),1 the Group of 20 (G20),2 the group consisting of Brazil, the Russian Federation, India, China and South Africa (commonly known as “BRICS”), the Group of 77 (G77, including the Intergovernmental Group of 24 on International Monetary Affairs and Development),3 the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries,4 the World Economic Forum and the Bilderberg Meeting. The mandate holder decided to devote his present report to the intersectional topic of public participation and decision-making in such global governance spaces and its impact on a democratic and equitable international order. In this regard, he recalls para. 6 (h) of Council resolution 39/4, which provides that “a democratic and equitable international order requires, inter alia, the realization of … [t]he right to equitable participation of all, without any discrimination, in domestic and global decision-making”. 3. These intergovernmental, multisectoral and private groupings have gained significant importance at the geopolitical, economic and financial levels as they play a considerable role in developing the framework and function of the international order, in parallel to the United Nations system. The configurations and methods of decision-making differ according to group. However, in each case, their meetings and policies invite intense public scrutiny, and even protests, exemplifying the scope of their influence on global governance and the major positions that they occupy as convenors of the world’s leaders and global thinkers. However, these groupings remain largely inaccessible to the public, in particular to those whose lives and livelihoods are affected by the decisions taken, hence contributing to the democratic deficit in the global decision-making process. As global governance forums, and as much as traditional multilateral institutions such as the United Nations in general, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), they have an obligation to make decisions in accordance with such basic principles of democratic governance as transparency, inclusivity, responsiveness and accountability. 4. To prepare this report, the Independent Expert conducted a visit to Geneva, Paris and Washington, D.C., from 21 to 30 May 2019, during which he held a series of meetings with representatives of States members of the aforementioned intergovernmental groupings and representatives of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank, IMF and the World Economic Forum. He also convened two expert consultations with civil society representatives in Paris and Washington, D.C., and 1 2 3 4 2 Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and United States of America. Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America and European Union. G77 is in fact composed of 134 member States. The full list is available at www.g77.org/doc/members. The Non-Aligned Movement is composed of 120 member States.