A/HRC/40/57 8. The present guiding principles aim to identify and systematize existing human rights obligations, and also provide commentary on their implications. They thus offer guidance to States and other stakeholders to ensure respect and fulfilment of those obligations. The guiding principles are based on all core international human rights instruments, in particular, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and their authoritative interpretation by the treaty body monitoring mechanisms, as well as, where relevant, the contribution of special procedure mandate holders. They complement and build upon relevant development-related commitments, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Declaration on the Right to Development. Nothing in the principles should be read as limiting or undermining the existing human rights obligations of States or other actors. 9. The guiding principles also build upon relevant commitments, in particular those referring to business and human rights,3 foreign debt and human rights,4 human rights impact assessments of trade and investment agreements5 and extreme poverty and human rights.6 All these principles should be considered and applied in coordination and conjunction with one another. I. Scope and purpose Principle 1 – Scope and purpose of the guiding principles The present principles provide guidance for economic policymaking, in compliance with international human rights obligations to respect, protect and fulfil all human rights. They apply whenever economic reform policies may foreseeably result in impairment of human rights. These principles are likely to be most relevant in the context of acute economic and financial crises (reactive function) but will also be relevant in less challenging economic times in the course of the design and implementation of short-, medium- and long-term economic reform policies considered or/and implemented (preventive function). Commentary 1.1 Some economic policies, such as fiscal consolidation, structural adjustment/reforms, privatization,7 deregulation of financial and labour markets and lowering environmental protection standards, can have adverse consequences on the enjoyment of human rights. 1.2 The guiding principles should be applied to different economic situations in which economic reform policies are considered and/or adopted. Such situations notably include: (a) acute economic and financial crises (involving sudden or gradual economic downturn and collapse of the values of public or private financial assets), where the risk of adverse human rights impacts is heightened and in which an urgent response is required; (b) medium-term economic reforms, where fiscal consolidation may stretch into multi-year processes that go beyond the immediate responses to and implications of economic and financial crises; and (c) longer-term processes, such as the systematic review of public budgets and their distributional assessments, cumulative and long-term effects of fiscal consolidation measures on human rights, or the effects of labour market reforms. 3 4 5 6 7 4 A/HRC/17/31. A/HRC/20/23 and Corr.1. A/HRC/19/59/Add.5. A/HRC/21/39. See A/73/396.