CESR, in collaboration with a worldwide network of civil society organizations, has presented a collective submission to the Ad Hoc Committee tasked with drafting the Terms of Reference for the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation (UNTC). This submission underscores the vital need to incorporate human rights standards within the Terms of Reference, aiming to ensure that global tax cooperation frameworks advance the cause of human rights and equitable development.
The joint submission articulates a vision for a just system that is capable of upholding human rights. It argues for including human rights norms as a guiding framework within the UNTC, proposing that these norms act as benchmarks for evaluating and designing tax systems worldwide. The integration of these principles is seen as essential for enabling states to secure the necessary resources for protecting human rights, promoting social equity, and ensuring environmental sustainability.
The submission addresses key aspects such as states' obligations to maximize resource mobilization for the progressive realization of economic, social, and cultural rights, the imperative for international cooperation in tax matters, and the recognition of states' extraterritorial obligations. The document calls for dismantling existing legal and financial mechanisms that perpetuate tax injustice and creating transparent, inclusive processes for tax cooperation.
The submission strongly emphasizes the need for meaningful participation at the international level. It stresses that for tax systems to be truly equitable and effective, they must be designed and implemented with the active involvement of those countries historically most damaged by them.
The endorsement of this proposal by a diverse group of organizations reflects a united front in the push for a global tax system that respects and promotes human rights. The signatories to this submission, including ActionAid International, Amnesty International, the Financial Transparency Coalition, and the Tax Justice Network, among others, represent a broad spectrum of advocates for justice and equity on a global scale.
You can download the full submission below.
Signatories:
- ActionAid International
- ActionAid Zambia
- Africa Network Campaign on Education for All (ANCEFA)
- Amnesty International
- ANND
- APIT Portugal
- Association For Promotion Sustainable Development
- Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
- Centro de Derechos Económicos y Sociales - CDES
- Centro de Estudios de Derecho, Justicia y Sociedad - Dejusticia
- Christian Aid
- CLADE
- COAST Foundation
- DISABILITY PEOPLES FORUM UGANDA
- Financial Transparency Coalition
- Global Campaign for Education (GCE)
- Global Policy Forum
- Halley Movement Coalition
- Initiative for Social and Economic (ISER)
- International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific
- MENAFem movement for development, economic and ecological justice
- MenaFem Movement for Economic, Development and Ecological Justice
- Observatoire Tunisien de l'Economie (OTE)
- Oxfam
- Rural Area Development Programme (RADP)
- Save the Children
- Solidarité des Femmes sur le Fleuve Congo
- Southern Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI-Uganda)
- Tax Justice Network
- Tax Justice UK
