A/HRC/17/34 D. Ensuring non-discrimination and equality 21. The requirement that a State must ensure enjoyment of human rights equally and without discrimination of any kind is a fundamental pillar of the human rights framework.11 The scarcity of resources in times of economic hardship is not an acceptable justification for discriminatory measures or failing to implement anti-discrimination policies. 22. Expenditure and entitlements must benefit all social groups equally, and exclusions from public funds based on, for example, citizenship or employment status, may violate the requirement for non-discrimination. These principles also require States to identify vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society and to protect them as a matter of priority. States have an obligation to take special and positive measures to diminish or eliminate conditions that cause or help to perpetrate discrimination.12 23. Given the clearly disproportionate and devastating effect of the global economic and financial crises on vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, including children, persons with disabilities, older persons, indigenous peoples, ethnic minorities and migrants, States must be particularly careful to ensure that recovery measures do not exclude them or exacerbate their situation. Considering that gender inequality is a cause of and a factor that perpetuates poverty, effective recovery policies must take into account State obligations regarding gender equality and the protection of women’s full range of rights. 24. When limited resources require the adoption of targeted measures to reach the poorest and most disadvantaged members and groups in society, caution is required from a human rights perspective. In principle, human rights standards are not compromised by the use of targeted schemes as a form of prioritization of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. However, States must ensure that targeting mechanisms comply with human rights standards and are utilized only within a longer-term strategy of progressively ensuring universal protection. E. Allowing for participation, transparency and accountability 25. At the core of the human rights framework is an overarching requirement that all States take into consideration the principles of participation, transparency and accountability in the design, implementation and evaluation of State policies.13 Human rights are important not only in the outcome of State policies but also in the process by which they are formulated and implemented. These principles are integral both to ensuring effectiveness in the adopted policy and responding to the obligations of States with regard to the rights to take part in public life, to seek and receive information and to have access to effective remedies in cases of violation. 26. In formulating policies in response to the crises, such as reductions in public expenditure, increases in taxation or entering into conditional loans with donors or financial institutions, States must allow for the broadest possible national dialogue, with effective 11 12 13 See for example International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, arts. 2(2) and 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, arts. 2(1), 3 and 26; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 2(1); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 2; and Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 2(1). See for example Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 4(1) and International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, art. 2(2). For further information on how to operationalize these principles, see the previous reports of the mandate holder. 7