A/HRC/37/30 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 34/4, in which the Council requested the Secretary-General to prepare an annual report on the question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights, with a special focus on the role of economic, social and cultural rights in the transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies. 2. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is unequivocally anchored in human rights and has at its heart the commitment to leave no one behind and to reach the furthest behind first. Member States have committed to reducing inequalities as a pathway towards sustainable development. It aims to address the multidimensional causes of poverty, inequality and discrimination, and reduce the vulnerabilities of the most marginalized people, including women, refugees, internally displaced persons, migrants, minorities, indigenous peoples, stateless persons and populations affected by conflict and natural disasters. 3. Disasters undermine economic and social progress towards sustainable development and full realization of human rights. The 2030 Agenda therefore aims to increase the resilience of societies and ecosystems to man-made and natural hazards, shocks and stresses; promote multisectoral, integrated approaches that harness the potential, assets and capacities of institutions and communities to enhance human well-being, and reduce the risks and vulnerabilities associated with natural hazards, climate change, violence, conflict, political and social instability or economic volatility, and manage the change and uncertainty of long-term trends. At the World Humanitarian Summit, global leaders announced significant commitments to enhancing compliance with international human rights and humanitarian law and to working together with all actors towards collective outcomes that reduce need, vulnerability and risk, in support of national and local efforts, in order to “reach the furthest behind first”. 4. There are strong links between sustainability and resilience and human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights. Sudden onset events, such as earthquakes, destroy lives, homes and livelihoods, and can set back the progress of development for decades. Climate change is eroding enjoyment by many people of a broad range of human rights, such as the right to food, water and sanitation, health and adequate housing. Other disasters, either directly caused by or exacerbated by State actions and omissions, and conflicts also undermine the full realization of economic, social and cultural rights. 5. Those “left furthest behind” are often the ones that bear the disproportionate impact of such disasters. The fundamental human rights challenges of poverty, inequality and discrimination, as well as unchecked urbanization, migration, conflicts and governance and accountability deficits, all contribute to increased vulnerability and risks. 6. Increasing the resilience of societies, economies and the natural environment can help countries, communities and those living in poverty to withstand shocks, embrace uncertainty and manage risks. A human rights-based approach to building resilience is value-based, building on the comprehensive legal framework based on the indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights. It focuses on the rights holders and requires the effective accountability of duty bearers. II. Linkages between economic, social and cultural rights and crises, disasters and conflicts A. Threat of climate change to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights 7. Over the past decade, more than 700,000 people have lost their lives, over 1.4 million have been injured and approximately 23 million have been made homeless as a 2