Background

Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 43/10, the United Nations Independent Expert on foreign debt, other international financial obligations and human rights, Ms Attiya Waris will undertake a country visit to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas from 21 to 31 August 2023 at the invitation of its Government. Her visit will focus, in accordance with her mandate, on a wide range of issues related to illicit financial flows, fiscal affairs, debt and their implications on human rights. She aims to acquire on-site knowledge on the issues related to her mandate and provide insights and recommendations to the Government and other stakeholders.

A report summarizing the visit and including recommendations will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2024.

Ms Attiya Waris was appointed Independent Expert on foreign debt, other international financial obligations and human rights by the Human Rights Council in its 46th session. She took her position on 1 August 2021.

The Independent Expert invites all stakeholders to provide views, documentation, analysis and relevant information to inform the preparation of her visit to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

In particular, she invites academics, non-governmental organizations and networks, trade unions, think tanks, international financial institutions and UN entities, as well as individuals, to provide inputs.

Contributions should be concise and address the specific issues of the mandate of the Independent Expert, such as:

Questions

Debt, climate change and human rights

• Main current macro-economic opportunities and challenges faced by the country
• Data on main socio-economic indicators and trends (poverty, education, access to food, water, sanitation, health, social security, unemployment, etc.) and relevant policies and/or legislation
• Impact of climate change, on the realization of human rights of all
• Progress and policies towards reduction of climate change and protection against its negative impact
• Current data and trends on public debt and deficit (including any relevant information on debt service obligations, creditor composition and lending terms/conditionalities) and debt sustainability, and relevant policies and/or legislation
• Effects of foreign debt on the realization of human rights, in particular economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, at national, district or local levels
• Information and analysis related to financial assistance, debt restructuring and negotiations with international financial institutions and creditors, including private creditors, and their impacts on human rights including environmental rights
• Information on monetary, economic and fiscal policy and reforms – in particular on revenue, taxation, social expenditure, public debt management, and more generally the use of maximum available resources for the realization of human rights – and their impacts on foreign and debt and on human rights including environmental rights
• Information on any steps taken to integrate gender and human rights-based approaches in economic and fiscal policymaking, and in policies and programmes on disaster risk reduction and climate change
• Information related to debt-for-environment swaps and climate-related loans or funding
• Extra-territorial human rights impact of financial policies, in particular on people in situation of poverty, vulnerability and marginalization

Developments in Banking and Finance

• Impacts of the inclusion of The Bahamas in the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes by the European Union on the human rights of people, including within The Bahamas
• Information related to the international taxation reforms (Two Pillar solution: Pillar I and Pillar II, UN global tax convention) and the impact on The Bahamas
• Information on initiatives tackling illicit financial flows, offshore and undeclared wealth or assets in established sectors like banking, investment, financial, asset and wealth management sectors and emerging sectors in the country
• Information on cross-border cooperation on detecting crimes through financial intelligence, asset recovery, and other such initiatives
• Information on financial transparency and regulation in relation to offshore leaks anti-money laundering/ corruption and anti-tax avoidance laws, accountancy and public participation (freedom of information requests, access to remedy, labour laws etc.)
• Issues related to illicit financial flows, national tax structure (including any tax incentives/exemptions provided to corporates, sectors), accountability and transparency mechanisms in this domain (access to information on financial and fiscal issues with relevant disaggregation and, where possible, periodicity)

Other

• Please provide any other information, documents or background materials that may be relevant for the mandate