| dc.description.abstract | In November of 2006, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Norway launched a bond in the international capital markets for the purpose of funding immunization programs in the developing world. This was the first financial instrument launched under a structure designed to access donor country aid pledges through 2026 up front. US$1 billion of approximately US$5 billion in total pledges was monetized in order to be administered by an entity formerly know as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (currently known as the GAVI Alliance). Over the next several years, additional bonds may be launched under this structure, making available almost the full amount of pledges in large amounts early on, rather than in much smaller amounts over the course of the next 20 years. With these “frontloaded” large pools of funds, GAVI immunization programs, in theory and in likelihood, can be more comprehensive and have a far deeper impact on the health and development of the world’s poor, particularly children. Such a capital markets based approach to development financing is both strikingly innovative in its conception and bold in its execution. All parties involved, particularly the United Kingdom as the driving force behind this endeavor, deserve substantial recognition for their pioneering efforts.
However, there is an element of International Monetary Fund (IMF)-related conditionality within the structure of the instrument that potentially undermines the intended purpose of this instrument and may be in conflict with the human rights obligations of the UK and the other donor countries involved. Essentially, because of the conditions within the financing structure, nations that are not part of the IMF (such as, currently, Cuba and North Korea) and those in Protracted Arrears to the IMF (such as, currently, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe and, until recently, Liberia) are precluded from accessing IFFIm “frontloaded” pledges to fund GAVI immunization programs in their countries.
The populations of these nations comprise up to 100 million of the world’s poorest and most destitute, including, and perhaps especially, children. As a result of this conditionality structure, these populations are essentially being locked out of the 20 years’ worth of immunization aid which this structure frontloads.
The purpose of this thesis is to explore the nascent nexus between the international capital markets and the human rights obligations of developed nations and other actors. Only sovereign nations can and have formally undertaken human rights related obligations vis-à-vis their own citizens/inhabitants and certain other extraterritorial impacts of their actions. In the context of globalization (particularly given the breadth and depth of reach of financial globalization), the informal or baseline obligations of non-sovereign actors is also explored. This thesis reviews the intent and obligations of the parties involved in the structuring and execution of this financial instrument based on available documentation as well as independent inquiry. The thesis further explores whether and to what extent the structural elements of this financing mechanism undermine any human rights related obligations of the involved parties. Further, the paper suggests practical recommendations (both short and long term) as potential remedies and/or improvements upon the current structure.
In addition, this thesis seeks to highlight certain trends that may require further consideration, and that are likely to surface with increasing frequency, as nations with human rights related obligations act in concert with and through agents, instruments and markets that are simultaneously of crucial importance to the individual, but are also largely devoid of the responsibility to respect, protect or fulfill that individual’s human rights. | nor |