Chapter 3 | Page 116 resources’ creates an ‘entitlement’ to ‘receive resources offered by the international community’72 and noted that: in the absence of an active programme of international assistance and cooperation on the part of all those States that are in a position to undertake one, the full realisation of economic, social and cultural rights will remain an unfulfilled aspiration in many countries.73 Despite its significance, however, international assistance and co-operation is not understood as an automatic right for States but rather as a supplementary means of supporting the efforts of individual States. To date, the Committee has not clarified whether wealthy States have an obligation under the Covenant to assist poor States.74 Based on the work of the Committee so far on the question of seeking development assistance and co-operation for the realisation of ESC rights, it can be argued that poorer States have a duty to ‘actively seek’ international assistance, in line with the Article 2(1) requirement.75 States in need of international assistance can request this from wealthier States, UN agencies, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations.76 In this context, some argue that if a corresponding duty to assist does not exist, then the duty to seek assistance would not make any sense.77 During the drafting of the Optional Protocol, the nature of international cooperation was identified as not being limited to development aid, and it was noted that the obligations under the Covenant should be considered in the light of the various political declarations and commitments, including the Monterrey 72 An evaluation of the Obligation to take steps to the "Maximum Available Resources" under an Optional Protocol to the Covenant, E/C.12/2007/1, above n 4, [5]. 73 CESCR General Comment No 3, E/1991/23, above n 3, [14]. 74 Fons Coomans, 'The Extraterritorial Scope of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Work of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights' (2011) 11(1) Human Rights Law Review 1-35, 9, 26. 75 María Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, 'The obligations of ‘international assistance and cooperation’ under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. A possible entry point to a human rights based approach to Millennium Development Goal 8' (2009) 13(1) The International Journal of Human Rights 86-109, 94-95. 76 Ibid. 77 Gondek, above n 56, 354.