A/HRC/11/10 page 7 17. In 1995, the total debt service payments of developing countries amounted to US$ 220 billion and, in 2007, the total rose to US$ 523 billion.2 18. While the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative3 aims to bring the net value of the debt/export ratio to below the 150 per cent threshold, some poor countries had a higher ratio at completion point: Burkina Faso (208.7 per cent), Ethiopia (218.4 per cent), Niger (208.7 per cent), Rwanda (326.5 per cent) and Malawi (229.1 per cent).2 19. These statistics indicate that, despite the obvious seriousness of the debt problem for poor countries, the global response to the debt crisis has thus far been inadequate. This is unsatisfactory, given the human rights implications of heavy indebtedness and the fact that the debt problem is not an exclusively economic problem. 20. In paragraph 10 of his preliminary report to the General Assembly, the independent expert intimated that the challenges posed by the debt problem and the limitations of current debt relief initiatives (viewed against the backdrop of divided opinion in both the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council on whether foreign debt should be considered a human rights issue) underscore the need for a new approach to the debt problem which, inter alia, incorporates human rights concerns. 21. In this section, the independent expert proposes a preliminary framework for understanding the relationship between foreign debt and the realization of human rights. This proposal is consistent with the reality that human rights lie at the core of the broader mission of the United Nations and that the protection of human rights is essential to building a more secure and prosperous world.4 The independent expert welcomes the views of Member States on the proposed framework. 3 The HIPC Initiative is one of two main international debt relief measures currently promoted by the World Bank and the IMF, the other being the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). Debt relief under HIPC is conditional on the progress made by qualifying countries in the preparation and implementation of social policies and strategies for reducing poverty. The MDRI provides for 100 per cent relief on eligible debt from three multilateral institutions - the IMF, the International Development Association and the African Development Bank - to heavily indebted poor countries and it is ostensibly designed to help these countries progress toward the MDGs. All countries that reach completion point under the enhanced HIPC Initiative and those with per capita income below US$ 380 and outstanding debt to the IMF as at the end of 2004 are eligible for the MDRI. 4 See United Nations, “In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all” (A/59/2005).