Illicit Funds

Drafting group

At its seventeenth session, the Committee established a drafting group for the preparation of a progress report. The current member of the drafting group are:

• Mr. Coriolano
• Mr. Lebedev
• Mr. Okafor (Co-Rapporteur)
  
• Mr. Soofi (Chairperson)
• Mr. Ziegler (Co-Rapporteur)

Also at the same session, the drafting group and the full Committee held meetings to discuss the topic and the questionnaires to be disseminated to Member States, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, special procedure mandate holders, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations.

At its eighteenth session, the Committee considered the draft progress report (A/HRC/AC/18/CRP.3) presented by the drafting group. The drafting group will finalize the progress report in the light of the discussion held by at the eighteenth session, after circulating it electronically to all members of the Committee for approval, with a view to submitting it to the Council at its thirty-sixth session.

At its thirty-fourth session in March 2017, the Council adopted resolution A/HRC/RES/34/11 in which it requests the Advisory Committee to conduct a study, in continuation of the study requested by the Council resolution 31/22, on the possibility of utilizing non-repatriated illicit funds, including through monetization and/or the establishment of investment funds, while completing the necessary legal procedures, and in accordance with national priorities, with view to supporting the achievement of the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, contributing to the enhancement of the promotion of human rights and in accordance with obligations under international human rights law, and to submit the requested study to the Council at its thirty-ninth session (September 2018).

The same resolution, also requests the Committee to seek, if necessary, further views and the input of Member States, relevant international and regional organizations, United Nations bodies, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations in order to finalize the above-mentioned study.

At the nineteenth session, therefore the Advisory Committee will have before it the report already submitted to the Human Rights Council for consideration at its thirty-sixth session in September, pursuant to resolution 31/22. The Committee will also continue its discussion on this topic further to Council resolution 34/11.