A/HRC/33/54 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 27/30, by which the Council requested the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee to prepare a research-based report on the activities of vulture funds and their impact on human rights. 2. In the resolution, the Council reaffirmed that the activities of vulture funds highlighted some of the problems in the global financial system and were indicative of the unjust nature of the current system, which directly affected the enjoyment of human rights in debtor States. The Council called upon States to consider implementing legal frameworks to curtail predatory funds activities within their jurisdictions. 3. In preparing the report, the Advisory Committee sought the views and inputs of Member States, United Nations agencies, relevant international and regional organizations, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and relevant special procedures mandate holders, including 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, as well as national human rights institutions, non-governmental organizations and eminent academics. The report was prepared by the Rapporteur of the drafting group on the activities of vulture funds and the impact on human rights, Jean Ziegler, 4. The Advisory Committee would like to thank in particular the Governments of Argentina, Cuba, El Salvador, Kuwait, Mauritius, the Philippines and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Ombudsman of Portugal, the National Commission for Human Rights of Greece, the Centre for Legal and Social Studies (CELS), Centre Europe–tiers monde (CETIM) and the Asamblea Permanente por los Derechos Humanos (APDH) for the information provided in response to the questionnaire sent in March 2015. 5. In the report the Rapporteur highlights the growing concerns raised by the strategies employed by vulture funds. He analyses some of the most striking examples and considers national and international initiatives undertaken to mitigate the negative impact of these activities on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development. II. What are vulture funds? 6. There is no international legal regime governing cases of State “insolvency” or “bankruptcy”. When a State defaults on its sovereign debt, a process for restructuring the debt must be initiated at its own initiative in order to get a reduction of the debt or an extension of the repayment terms. This implies undertaking complex and protracted negotiations with a very diverse range of creditors.1 Participation in restructuring processes is voluntary and, therefore, even a small percentage of creditors may well decide to hold out with a view to obtaining a higher level of repayment in the future. It is at this point that vulture funds come into play. 1 These might be international financial institutions, bilateral or multilateral lenders, private financial institutions or bondholders. 3