A/HRC/42/29 with the fact that most donors that have committed to devote 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of gross national income to official development assistance for least developed countries are still lagging behind this target,35 raises concerns that official development assistance is not being sufficiently realigned with the central commitment in the 2030 Agenda to target those furthest behind first. 35. In the view of the Working Group on the Right to Development, human rights in general, and the right to development in particular, as well as poverty reduction objectives should guide official development assistance policies.36 Increasingly, recommendations issued in the context of the universal periodic review,37 by treaty bodies38 and by special procedure mandate holders39 include a recommendation that donor countries increase their official development assistance levels to meet the targets contained in target 17.2. Target 17.3 – additional financial resources 36. Indicators under target 17.3 include foreign direct investment, official development assistance and South-South cooperation as a proportion of total domestic budget, and volume of remittances as a proportion of total gross domestic product. After a peak in 2015, foreign direct investments have been on a weak trajectory. 40 Current foreign direct investment trends are distributed highly unevenly. Africa, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States received small or negligible levels of foreign direct investment. 41 This raises concerns both with regard to the commitment made through the 2030 Agenda to target those furthest behind first and the realization of the right to development. The expert inputs submitted to the Working Group that have covered conditions for channelling foreign direct investment towards development needs provide guidance on the responsibility of investors and recipient countries to ensure that profit considerations do not crowd out human rights protections. 42 The Working Group has stated that the right to development implies that foreign direct investment should contribute to local and national development in a responsible manner, that is, in ways that are conducive to social development, protect the environment and respect the rule of law and fiscal obligations in the host countries. The principles of fair distribution of benefits, self-determination of peoples and provisions for human rights safeguards need to be applied. 37. South-South cooperation has expanded greatly in the past years and has contributed to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and to the realization of the right to development as a complement to North-South and triangular cooperation.43 The Working Group has also stressed that multilateral cooperation and other forms of cooperation, such as partnership, commitment and solidarity, including South-South cooperation, are also important. 44 38. In 2019, annual remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries are projected to reach $550 billion.45 Remittances represent more than 10 per cent of gross domestic 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 See www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-data/TAB31e.xls. E/CN.4/2002/28/Rev.1, para. 100 (c)–(d); E/CN.4/2006/26, para. 45. See, for example, A/HRC/39/11, paras. 142.85–142.86; A/HRC/38/4, paras. 145.25–145.28; A/HRC/38/16, para. 108.46. E/C.12/FRA/CO/4, paras.7–8; E/C.12/ITA/CO/5, para. 13; E/C.12/CAN/CO/6, para. 12; CRC/C/AUS/CO/4, para. 26. A/HRC/20/18/Add.1, para. 86 (c). Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2019 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.19.I.7), pp. 59–60. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2018, pp. 66–78. De Schutter, “The international dimensions of the right to development”, paras. 114–127 and Bhumika Muchhala, “International Investment Agreements and Industrialization: Realizing the Right to Development and the Sustainable Development Goals”, paper submitted to the Working Group on the Right to Development at its nineteenth session. See also E/CN.4/2006/26, para. 59; A/66/216, para. 54. For more information, see www.unsouthsouth.org/bapa40/. A/66/216, para. 19. E/2019/68 , para. 38. 9