A/HRC/17/37 importance of the rights to information and participation, which helped citizens hold their Governments accountable in relation to loan contraction, use of loan funds and debt management. 44. In the subsequent discussion, one participant expressed concern in relation to the low level of participation of the African diplomatic corps based in Addis Ababa. It was observed that this could possibly be attributed to the technical nature of the issues under consideration. In this regard, it was suggested that efforts should be made to put the issues under debate on the agenda of the African Union and to convene an African Union summit on the question of foreign debt and its impact on human rights. 45. There was broad agreement on the need for an improved legal framework to address the impact of external debt on the realization of human rights. Some participants expressed concern over the tendency of transnational corporations and international financial institutions to claim that they are not bound by international human rights law. D. Session III: Debt, debt relief and economic reform 46. The session opened with three panel presentations. The first presentation, addressing debt relief, conditionality and accountability, highlighted the adverse impacts of conditionalities imposed as part of the current multilateral debt relief schemes. These conditionalities, it was contended, occasioned “sovereignty cost” which included a lack of space for policy formulation that undermined national ownership of development policies. The speaker also criticized the joint World Bank/International Monetary Fund debt sustainability framework for its failure to adopt pro-poor and human rights-based approaches. 47. In the second presentation, the relationship between poverty and human rights was explored and a human rights-based approach to poverty reduction strategies was proposed which: (a) takes into account both a moral value and a legal obligation; (b) seeks to empower people; (c) is based on the human rights obligations of States; (d) promotes accountability; and (e) complies with human rights principles. 48. In the third presentation, the speaker addressed the issue of coherence between debt and trade policies and related obligations of States. It was asserted that one of the major obstacles to finding an enduring solution to the debt problems of developing countries had been the approach of bilateral and multilateral lenders that viewed the debt crisis as a mere financial problem. For this reason, the measures aimed at addressing the debt crisis were confined to fiscal and monetary restraints, structural reforms involving the reduction of public sector spending (including on basic social services), and trade and financial liberalization. The view was expressed that the debt problem of developing countries was rooted in the unequal economic relationships between those countries and developed countries and that most debts were illegitimate or odious. The current approach to debt had resulted in massive poverty in many debtor countries. It was proposed that a human rightsbased approach to debt management and trade policies be adopted as a lasting solution to the debt crisis and related socio-economic problems. 49. In the discussions that followed, participants opined that the guidelines needed to address more clearly the issue of illegitimacy or odiousness of debt. In this regard, it was proposed that a set of criteria for the identification of illegitimate and odious debt should be established. 50. In regard to the question of policy coherence, participants underlined the need, both at the international and national levels, for better coherence between debt and trade policies. To illustrate, one participant referred to the huge subsidies that creditor countries provided 11