A/HRC/21/39 V. Specific rights 62. All human rights – civil, political, economic, social and cultural – apply to and should be enjoyed by persons living in poverty. Attention is paid below to some specific rights whose enjoyment by persons living in poverty is particularly limited and obstructed, and in relation to which State policies are often inadequate or counterproductive. Guidance is provided on how to respect, protect and fulfil these rights for those living in poverty. The text is neither a summary nor a statement of the core content of each right and should be interpreted and applied consistent with existing obligations under national and international law, and with due regard to general comments and recommendations of United Nations human rights mechanisms. A. Right to life and physical integrity 63. Persons living in poverty are often exposed to both institutional and individual risks of violence and threats to their physical integrity from State agents and private actors, causing them to live in constant fear and insecurity. Continued exposure and vulnerability to violence affect a person’s physical and mental health and impair his or her economic development and capacity to escape poverty. Those living in poverty, with little or no economic independence, have fewer possibilities of finding security and protection. Law enforcement agents often profile and deliberately target persons living in poverty. Women and girls living in poverty are particularly affected by gender-based violence that includes, but is not limited to, domestic violence, sexual abuse and harassment and harmful traditional practices. Moreover, poverty is a cause of preventable death, ill-health, high mortality rates and low life expectancy, not only through greater exposure to violence but also material deprivation and its consequences, such as lack of food, safe water and sanitation. 64. States should: (a) Take special measures to ensure that the right to life and physical integrity of persons living in poverty is respected, protected and fulfilled on an equal basis, including by training law enforcement officials, reviewing police procedures and establishing clear accountability systems accessible to the most disadvantaged; (b) Develop specific strategies and systems to tackle gender-based violence perpetrated against persons living in poverty, including by providing shelter for women victims of domestic violence; (c) Take all possible measures, to the maximum of their available resources, to ensure that persons living in poverty have access to at least the minimum essential food that is nutritionally adequate and safe, basic shelter, housing and sanitation, and an adequate supply of safe drinking water, so as to prevent diseases and other harmful consequences of material deprivations, including malnutrition, epidemics and maternal and infant mortality. B. Rights to liberty and security of the person 65. Various structural and social factors, including discrimination, cause persons living in poverty to come into contact with the criminal justice system with a disproportionately high frequency. They also encounter considerable obstacles in exiting the system. Consequently, disproportionately high numbers of the poorest and most excluded persons are arrested, detained and imprisoned. Many are subject to pre-trial detention for long periods without meaningful recourse to bail or review. Often unable to afford adequate legal representation, they are more likely to be convicted. While in detention they often 12