A/HRC/17/34 and meaningful participation of civil society, including those who will be directly affected by such policies. 27. To allow the public to participate democratically in discussions and decisionmaking, information about proposed policy measures must be disseminated widely and in a way that is easily understood. Participatory mechanisms should be established and the capacity of rights-holders to know their rights must be strengthened. 28. Governments should encourage independent organizations and academic institutions to develop alternative policy options and to carry out assessments of the social impact of all options and proposed measures. Recovery measures should also be open to oversight, including judicial scrutiny, and public officials involved in economic policy should be accountable for any policy decisions that endanger the enjoyment of human rights. IV. Addressing the needs of the most vulnerable to ensure an inclusive, rights-based recovery 29. Since the global economic and financial crises in the financial markets arose in 2007, they have had a devastating impact on poverty rates and presented a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Their disastrous impact has been amplified by a number of pre-existing social and economic realities: the world had been plagued in preceding years by consecutive fuel and food crises, unemployment was already unacceptably high, a majority of workers were employed in the informal sector, and only 20 per cent of the world’s working-age population and their families had effective access to social protection.14 30. The onset of the global economic and financial crises therefore exacerbated deprivations and resulted in inequality and poverty becoming not only more widespread, but more deeply entrenched. According to World Bank estimates, as a result of the crises, an additional 50 million people fell into income poverty (less than $1.25 a day) during 2009 and an estimated 64 million more were living in income poverty by the end of 2010. Around 71 million additional people will remain in extreme poverty until 2020 than otherwise would have.15 31. The advanced interconnectedness of the world’s economies and markets means that the ramifications of the crises have been far more extensive than any previous comparable economic downturn. Throughout both developing and developed countries, 205 million people are unemployed16 the highest number of unemployed in history. As a result of the crises, at least 55,000 more children are likely to die each year from 2009 to 2015.17 The prevalence of children dropping out of school has increased, as boys have been propelled into the workforce and girls given an increased burden of household tasks.18 By 2009, at 14 15 16 17 18 8 International Labour Organization (ILO), World Social Security Report 2010-2011, p. 33. World Bank, The World Bank Group’s Response to the Global Economic Crisis, 2010, p. 11. ILO, Global Employment Trends 2011: The challenge of a jobs recovery, 2011, p. 12. Jessica Espey and Maricar Garde, The global economic crisis: Balancing the books on the backs of the world’s most vulnerable children?, Save the Children, 2010, p.8. See for example Ronald Mendoza, “Inclusive Crises, Exclusive Recoveries, and Policies to Prevent a Double Whammy for the Poor”, Social and Economic Policy Working Paper, UNICEF Policy and Practice, 2010, p. 18.