A/HRC/29/28 45. A failure to align the World Bank Framework with the Guiding Principles would mean that the World Bank risks falling behind standard-development that has taken place in the context of private finance. The most notable example is the Equator Principles, 45 a much-cited risk management framework adopted by a group of 79 of the world’s major financial institutions covering as much as 70 per cent of international “project finance” in the so-called emerging markets. When they were revised in 2013, they were aligned with key elements of the pillar of the Guiding Principles on the corporate responsibility to respect. The Equator Principles have been instrumental in promoting convergence around common environmental and social standards in the global financial sector, and are increasingly used by public financial institutions, including multilateral development banks and export credit agencies. 46. Thus the alignment of the Framework with the Guiding Principles is not only critical for institutional coherence. A failure by the World Bank to go in the same direction as the International Finance Corporation and the Equator Principles could jeopardize the momentum noted above. Conversely, an updated Framework aligned with the Guiding Principles would constitute a significant contribution to reinforcing that momentum. 2. Financial system regulation 47. Another issue that merits wider attention is the links between international financial regulation and sustainable development. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), through its inquiry into the design of a sustainable financial system,46 explores how the rules that govern the financial system—(standards, metrics, incentives, regulations—and the roles and responsibilities of global and national financial institutions can help better mobilize capital for sustainable development. In order to do so, UNEP and the Institute for Human Rights and Business convened a meeting in December 2014 on the value of a human rights-focused examination of the rules of financial systems. 47 The meeting report48 suggests that the Guiding Principles could be a useful framework for the UNEP inquiry, so that the focus is both on the State duty to protect, in line with States’ international human rights obligations, and on the responsibility of business enterprises, including in the financial sector, to respect human rights. 48. These issues were further developed at a second meeting, in March 2015, which will inform a forthcoming working paper for the UNEP inquiry. Questions identified included exploring the different levels at which the financial sector has an impact on human rights; human rights due diligence with regard to financial products, other than project finance, such as derivatives and commodities trading, and the implications of human rights considerations for monetary policy.49 49. The Working Group considers that these are complex and difficult questions, on which it would be useful to shed further light with a view to achieving greater policy coherence at different levels of the patchwork of international, regional and domestic governance systems. align their safeguard policies with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (A/HRC/25/50/Add.2, para. 68 (h)). 14 45 Available from www.equator-principles.com/index.php/about-ep/about-ep. 46 See Inquiry website at www.unep.org/inquiry/. 47 http://www.ihrb.org/news/human-rights-dimensions-of-a-green-and-inclusive-financial-system.html. 48 Available from www.ihrb.org/pdf/2014-12-04-IHRB-UNEP-Inquiry-Meeting-Report.pdf. 49 www.ihrb.org/news/human-rights-dimensions-green-and-inclusive-financial-system.html.