A/HRC/43/66 29. Given that illicit financial flows have been openly mentioned as an obstacle to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, countries of destination, with the assistance of countries of origin, have the responsibility of creating a unified global architecture for tackling illicit financial flows. 30. Implementing the recommendations of the High-level Panel will make it easier to channel frozen illicit funds into investment projects in countries of origin while awaiting the completion of all legal procedures. As with other aspects of the matter, the modalities of doing so will only be worked out if there is the political will to do so. The following recommendation of the Panel, in particular, could open the door to the possibility of utilizing non-repatriated illicit funds for the establishment of investment funds: The African Union should engage with partner institutions to elaborate a global governance framework that will determine the conditions under which assets are frozen, managed and repatriated. The framework should include the creation of escrow accounts managed by regional development banks that will serve as custodians of the assets determined to be of illicit origin. 8 31. The High-level Panel concluded that a clear framework for the handling of frozen assets was needed. Creating an institutional escrow system in which regional development banks are designated as escrow agents would be one rational path to follow in that regard. In the view of the Panel, regulations and mechanisms were needed to ensure that financial establishments and banks identified and refused to accept illicit financial flows, rather than relying on self-regulation by banks. Global frameworks on asset recovery should be reconfigured to require that frozen assets be placed in escrow accounts in regional development banks rather than allowing banks that are culpable in accepting such deposits to continue to benefit from them.9 Banks that are determined to have been complicit in the receipt of illicit funds should not be allowed to keep those funds while they are frozen. Accepting tainted funds should also be rendered highly unattractive to banks. V. Obligations of countries of destination to allow the utilization of non-repatriated funds 32. In view of the fact that all States, especially the countries of destination of funds, have committed themselves to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is a binding obligation on their part to support all measures that would help developing countries, especially the countries of origin of illicit funds, in that regard. At the meeting of experts, held at the request of the Human Rights Council, in Geneva on 7 October 2019, the possibility of utilizing non-repatriated illicit funds, including through monetization and/or the establishment of investment funds to support the achievement of the Goals, was considered. 33. Several Sustainable Development Goal targets relate to the topic of illicit funds. Goal 16, on peace, justice and strong institutions, includes target 16.4, by which States committed to significantly reducing illicit financial and arms flows, strengthening the recovery and return of stolen assets and combating all forms of organized crime by 2030. 34. Under Sustainable Development Goal 17, on partnerships for sustainable development, and target 17.1, Member States committed to strengthening domestic resource mobilization, including through international support to developing countries, to improve domestic capacity for tax and other revenue collection. Preventing flows of illicit funds and advancing the repatriation of such funds fall within the scope of target 17.1. Under target 17.9, Member States committed to enhancing international support for implementing effective and targeted capacity-building in developing countries to support national plans to implement all the Goals, including through North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation. 8 9 Ibid., p. 86. Ibid., p. 70. 7