A/67/278 I. Introduction 1. Since the submission of her previous report to the General Assembly (A/66/265), the Special Rapporteur submitted her annual report to the Human Rights Council at its twentieth session (A/HRC/20/25), which was devoted to following up the recommendations made in country mission reports. She also submitted reports on her official visits to Timor-Leste (A/HRC/20/25/Add.1) and Paraguay (A/HRC/20/25/Add.2). 2. In addition, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 15/19, the Special Rapporteur submitted the final draft of the guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights to the Council at its twenty-first session (A/HRC/21/39). 3. During the past year the Special Rapporteur participated in numerous events and held working meetings with Governments, United Nations agencies, the World Bank, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and representatives of people living in poverty. A full list of activities is incorporated in her previous report to the Human Rights Council, as well as being available on the website of the mandate. 1 II. Normative framework 4. The indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of human rights is often recalled and reiterated in human rights instruments and by human rights bodies, although frequently disregarded in practice. The interdependence of all human rights is unequivocal when considering the situation of persons living in poverty, which is both a cause and a consequence of a range of mutually reinforcing human rights violations. Eradicating extreme poverty not only requires improving access to housing, food, education, health services, water and sanitation, but also requires ensuring that persons living in poverty have the resources, capabilities, choices, security and power necessary to enjoy the whole spectrum of human rights. 5. Access to justice is crucial for tackling the root causes of poverty, exclusion and vulnerability, for several reasons. First, owing to their vulnerability, persons living in poverty are more likely to fall victim to criminal or illegal acts, including sexual or economic exploitation, violence, torture and murder. Crime and illegality are also likely to have a great impact on their lives as it is hard for them to obtain redress and as a result they may fall further into poverty. Second, access to justice is important because justice systems can be tools to overcome deprivation, for example, by developing jurisprudence on social and economic rights. Third, when vulnerable persons cannot access justice systems, they are sometimes forced to take justice into their own hands through illegal or violent means, or to accept unjust settlements. Thus, fair and effective justice systems are an important way to tackle impunity and reduce violence and conflict. 2 Fourth, the inability of the poor to pursue justice remedies through existing systems increases their vulnerability to poverty and violations of their rights. In turn, their increased vulnerability and __________________ 1 2 12-45806 www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/SRExtremePovertyIndex.aspx. Programming for Justice: Access for All (Bangkok, United Nations Development Programme, 2005), p. 3. 3