A/HRC/RES/58/12 fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and to address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress, Recognizing the commitments made in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, and noting that, despite international debt relief efforts, many countries remain vulnerable to debt crisis and some are in the midst of a deepened crisis due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, including a number of least developed countries and small island developing States and some developed countries, Recalling that the General Assembly decided in its resolution 78/231 of 22 December 2023 to convene the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in Seville, Spain, from 30 June to 3 July 2025, and also decided in its resolution 78/261 of 26 February 2024 to convene the Second World Summit for Social Development, to be held in Doha, from 4 to 6 November 2025, Mindful of the role, mandate and activities of other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes in dealing with the issues of foreign debt and international financial obligations, Emphasizing the interconnectedness of debt sustainability, climate action and the realization of human rights, particularly in climate-vulnerable States, and recognizing the imperative to adopt integrated approaches that leverage climate finance to address both debt burdens and climate-related challenges, ensuring that climate investments contribute to longterm resilience and the fulfilment of economic, social and cultural rights, Reaffirming that the increasing debt burden faced by the most indebted developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, is unsustainable and constitutes one of the principal obstacles to achieving progress in people-centred sustainable development and poverty eradication, and that, for many developing and some developed countries, excessive debt servicing has severely constrained their capacity to promote social development and to provide basic services to create the conditions for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, Expressing its concern about the impact of delays in debt restructuring, higher excessive borrowing costs, surcharge policies and the lack of an international legal framework on sovereign debt resolution on the realization of economic, social, cultural and other human rights, including the right to development, and that, despite repeated rescheduling of debt, developing countries continue to pay more in debt servicing each year than the actual amount they receive in official development assistance, Recognizing that States have an obligation to respect and protect human rights, even in times of economic and financial crisis or a global pandemic, and to ensure that their policies and measures do not result in impermissible retrogression in the realization of human rights, as recognized in relevant international human rights instruments, and acknowledging that the guiding principles on human rights impact assessments of economic reforms 1 constitute an important reference for States in that regard, Recognizing also the sovereign right of a State to agree as creditor and debtor to restructure its sovereign debt, which should not be frustrated or impeded by any measure emanating from another State, international financial institution, corporation or private creditor, Recognizing further that illicit financial flows, including tax evasion by high networth individuals and commercial tax evasion and avoidance through trade misinvoicing and transfer mispricing by transnational corporations, contribute to the build-up of unsustainable debt, as Governments lacking domestic revenue may resort to external borrowing, Emphasizing that inequality continues to increase worldwide, and that it often contributes to social exclusion and the marginalization of certain groups and individuals, 1 2 A/HRC/40/57.