ICESCR concluding observations 2025, paragraph 15
Plain English recommendation
Government should:
Do everything it can to ensure the international financial institutions it belongs to don’t include unfair conditions on loans to other countries, especially developing countries. These loan conditions should not result in a return to a worse situation and measures which negatively affect rights under the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). These loan conditions should also not unreasonably harm vulnerable people and groups. Government should also make sure that any international financial institutions it belongs to carry out a human rights impact assessment before any loan is provided. Government should consider its previous statements about public debt, budget-cutting (austerity) measures, and how they affect the rights in the ICESCR, including a letter sent by the Committee’s Chair on May 16, 2012.
Original UN recommendation
The Committee recommends that the State Party make every effort to ensure that the international financial institutions of which it is a member do not attach unsustainable loan conditionalities or impose excessive debt-servicing burdens that would undermine the capacity of borrowing States, particularly developing countries, to meet their obligations under the Covenant. In particular, such conditionalities should not lead to the adoption of unjustified retrogressive measures or a violation of the obligations under the Covenant or have a disproportionate impact on disadvantaged individuals and groups in the borrowing States. In that regard, it also recommends that the State Party ensure that the international financial institutions of which it is a member carry out a human rights impact assessment prior to the provision of a loan. The Committee draws the attention of the State Party to its statement on public debt, austerity measures and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the letter on austerity measures sent by the Chairperson of the Committee to States Parties on 16 May 2012.
Date of UN examination
12/03/2025
Original UN document
Download the original ICESCR concluding observations 2025 on the UN website.