A/HRC/36/23 Agenda calls for strengthening the rule of law and combating corruption at all levels, as well as the elimination of illicit financial flows. However, measuring and tracking illicit financial flows are extremely challenging, in part because of a lack of an intergovernmental agreement on a conceptual framework defining illicit financial flows. It is important for countries to strengthen existing institutions and enforcement of the law to improve the design and functioning of effective, progressive, inclusive and transparent national tax systems (ibid.) 36. Competition for foreign investment can drive States to offer lower taxes and more attractive tax incentives for business. 30 Transnational corporations can exploit the tax codes in different States in which they operate to avoid or evade taxes. Today, it is estimated that about $7.6 trillion of personal wealth is said to be hidden in tax shelters, with a devastating impact on tax revenues, in particular in poorer countries. Developing countries are estimated to be losing at least $170 billion a year to tax havens. 31 In order to achieve equitable, people-centred development, tax systems must be progressive, transparent, accountable and effective.32 37. Some developing countries facing severe debt issues have been subjected to structural adjustment programmes promoted by international financial institutions. These have, in some instances, compromised a core principle of the right to development, which is that all individuals and peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy the benefits of development. The duty of international cooperation, which underscores the Declaration, must be operationalized in implementing the 2030 Agenda, including Sustainable Development Goal 17 on strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing the global partnership for sustainable development, together with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, in a mutually reinforcing manner. The ongoing development of a declaration on the right of peoples and individuals to international solidarity 33 provides another step in efforts to realize the right to development, which is both underpinned by and dependent on international solidarity for its meaningful implementation. 38. According to article 3 of the Declaration, States are obliged to cooperate with each other in eliminating obstacles to development and to create favourable conditions for the realization of the right to development at the national and international levels. The imposition of unilateral coercive measures may have implications for people’s right to development. (A/HRC/30/45). Conflicts, natural disasters, climate change and participation in global governance 39. Conflict and war entail massive violations of human rights, in contravention of the right to development. In 2015, 65.6 million people were displaced by conflict and persecution.34 The costs of war and military spending stand in the way of realizing the right to development.35 Article 7 of the Declaration is pertinent in its call for measures for peace and disarmament, and the redirection of savings from disarmament into development. The integrated framework of the Declaration provides a viable response to the SecretaryGeneral’s vision for Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace, going beyond conflict resolution, and is complemented by Sustainable Development Goal 16 on promoting inclusive and peaceful societies. Just as conflict undermines development, poverty and underdevelopment are root causes, as well as drivers, of conflict. 40. The figures related to migration and forced displacement are also expected to rise due to increasingly frequent natural disasters, many of which are induced by climate 30 31 32 33 34 35 See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RtD/InfoNote_Taxation.pdf. See www.oxfam.org/en/even-it/inequality-and-poverty-hidden-costs-tax-dodging and A/HRC/31/61, paras. 7 ff. See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/RtD/InfoNote_Taxation.pd. See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Solidarity/Pages/IESolidarityIndex.aspx. See www.unhcr.org/globaltrends2016/. Information note on the right to development and peace, available at www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/DevelopmentIndex.aspx. 9