The Human Rights Council’s new resolution on economic, social and cultural rights—led by Portugal— strengthens the link between human rights and fiscal policy, urging states to adopt progressive tax measures and commit to global cooperation grounded in rights.
CESR welcomes the adoption of the Human Rights Council’s biennial resolution on economic, social and cultural rights, which this year focuses on financing for development. The resolution represents meaningful progress in recognizing tax justice as essential to fulfilling states’ human rights obligations.
Led by Portugal and backed by a diverse coalition of countries from both the Global North and South, the resolution calls on states to implement efficient and progressive taxation and fiscal policies—explicitly linking these to their international legal duties to uphold economic, social and cultural rights. It also urges action to combat corruption, illicit financial flows, and tax evasion and avoidance, and to reduce the transaction costs of remittances as a way to strengthen domestic resource mobilization for sustainable development.
Importantly, the resolution states that economic, social and cultural rights are not a limitation on tax cooperation, but a necessary foundation for it. It encourages states to consider their human rights obligations when engaging in global tax negotiations and to constructively participate in the development of a United Nations framework convention on international tax cooperation.
“This resolution adds to the growing international consensus that human rights require—not restrict—transformative economic policy and progressive tax reform,” said CESR Executive Director Dr. Maria Ron Balsera. “Fiscal justice is not just a technical or economic issue. It is a matter of legal duty and democratic accountability.”
The resolution aligns with a recent joint statement from Honduras and five other countries, which frames tax justice as a human rights imperative and calls for transparent, inclusive international tax cooperation to support equitable and sustainable financial systems. Together with the February 2025 statement by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, these developments are shaping a stronger normative foundation for rights-based economic governance.
In addition to that, the resolution reiterates the importance of ‘empowering people and ensuring equality and inclusiveness in a manner consistent with States’ obligations under international human rights law, including in designing and implementing economic policies that advance the realization of human rights for all’. This goes to the core of CESR’s 2023-2027 strategy.
CESR and allies have long worked to bridge human rights and economic justice. From advancing progressive interpretations of international law to engaging in debates around reforming the global financial architecture, we continue to press for policies that put people and the planet before profit.
As preparations move forward for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development and the Second World Social Summit later this year, this resolution helps pave the way for a global economic order that upholds the dignity and rights of all.