A/HRC/11/9 page 9 24. From a human rights perspective, all persons should be covered by the social security system. Moreover, particular attention must be paid to ensuring that individuals belonging to the most disadvantaged and marginalized groups are covered at a minimum. In order to ensure universal coverage, non-contributory schemes such as CTPs are often necessary, especially because they have the potential to assist the most vulnerable and excluded to realize their rights by avoiding further deterioration of their living conditions. Nonetheless, the independent expert underlines that CTPs cannot provide a substitute for social security schemes as defined by international human rights law and labour law. International human rights law provides that States must work towards universal access to social security and towards the fulfilment of the right to an adequate standard of living, beyond the implementation of CTPs only. 25. The right to social security has been strongly affirmed in international law: further to articles 22 and 25 of the Universal Declaration, it appears in articles 9 and 10 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 5 (iv) of the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, article 11 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, article 26 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 27 of the International Convention for the Protection of Migrant Workers and Their Families. It also appears in regional human rights instruments9 and in several International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, in particular Convention No. 102 on Minimum Standards of Social Security. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities mentions the right to social protection in its article 28. 26. In its general comment No. 19, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights specified the essential elements of this right, drawing from various ILO Conventions and Declarations and the Committee’s experience. The first element is that the right to social security requires that a system, whether composed of a single scheme or variety of schemes, should be available to ensure that benefits are provided for the relevant social risks and contingencies. This system is meant to be characterized by a number of features, such as being established under domestic law, and public authorities must take responsibility for its effective administration or supervision. Some CTPs meet this condition. Consideration needs to be given as to whether CTPs which do not meet this condition can be improved, particularly if social security systems have not been established by law in accordance with the right to social security. included in the Covenant. States parties are also under a “minimum core” obligation to ensure at the very least, “minimum essential levels of the rights” in the Covenant. See the Committee’s general comment No. 3 on the nature of States parties’ obligations (art. 2, para. 1 of the Covenant), para. 12; its general comment No. 12, para. 28, general comment No. 14, para. 18; and general comment No. 19, paras. 40-42. 9 See article 9, Protocol of San Salvador and article 12, European Social Charter. The African Charter stipulates that “the aged and the disabled shall also have right to special measures of protection in keeping with their physical or moral needs”.