A/HRC/14/21 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 11/5, in which the Council requested the independent expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, to submit analytical reports to the Council and the General Assembly on the implementation of that resolution. 2. In his report to the Council at its eleventh session (A/HRC/11/10), the independent expert outlined a preliminary conceptual framework for understanding the link between foreign debt and human rights, based on international legal standards. In his report to the General Assembly (A/64/289), he highlighted the relevance of the concept of illegitimate debt to international efforts to find a fair and sustainable solution to the debt crisis, and argued that human rights considerations must inform the formulation of the concept in precise terms. The present report is intended to achieve three objectives: (a) to draw global attention to the negative impacts of “vulture fund” activities on international debt relief efforts and on the capacity of indebted poor countries that have benefitted from debt relief to create the necessary conditions for the realization of human rights and attainment of their development goals; (b) to examine the measures and proposals designed to combat these speculative investors; and (c) to make recommendations concerning these initiatives. II. Activities undertaken 3. Since he submitted his first report to the Council (A/HRC/11/10) in June 2009, the independent expert has engaged in a broad range of activities. The activities that he undertook during the period March to July 2009 are outlined in his report to the General Assembly (A/64/289). 4. From 31 August to 2 September 2009, the independent expert participated in the Social Forum of the Council in Geneva, at which he spoke on the impact of the global economic and financial crises on efforts to combat poverty. On 12 November, he participated in the inaugural meeting of the expert working group established by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), under its project on promoting responsible sovereign lending and borrowing, to provide technical and policy analysis to inform the discussions concerning principles that could promote responsible sovereign lending and borrowing. On 17 December, he issued a press statement in which he expressed regret at the decision of the British High Court that Liberia must pay a debt dating to 1978 to two vulture funds. This event and other initiatives detailed in this report informed the decision of the independent expert to focus the present report on vulture funds. 5. From 11 to 13 January 2010, the independent expert participated in a colloquium in Geneva on human rights in the global economy, which was organized by the International Council on Human Rights Policy in collaboration with Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalization Initiative. On 21 January, he participated in a panel discussion on Millennium Development Goal 8, Targets B and D on debt relief, held by the High-Level Task Force on the Implementation of the Right to Development during its sixth session (14–22 January) in Geneva. During this event, the independent expert delivered a statement in which he critically assessed the achievements and limitations of the multilateral debt relief initiatives in response to statements by representatives of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 4 GE.10-13156