A/HRC/31/37 the human rights of their members and in providing them with an enabling environment for the enjoyment of those rights.2 7. International recognition of families as relevant actors in sustainable development and poverty eradication is directly connected to the acknowledgment of the potential of families to contribute to the realization of the right to an adequate standard of living of their members, including adequate food, clothing, housing, water and sanitation. Indeed, the very definition of that right under international law is inextricably connected to a family dimension.3 8. Prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 29/22, the present report provides an overview of the recognition of the role of families in the development process, as evidenced by the evolution of the international policy framework over the last decades and the parallel, but interrelated, protection of the family and protection of the rights of family members under international human rights law. The report also includes an analysis of the international obligations of States in relation to the protection of the family and aa comparative review of State practice in that area, as well as conclusions and recommendations. 9. For the preparation of the present report, a note verbale requesting input was sent to all Member States and written contributions were received from 24 States. Submissions were also received from civil society organizations, United Nations agencies and other intergovernmental organizations, as well as from national human rights institutions. 4 The report has also benefited from inputs from the special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council.5 II. Role of families in poverty eradication and sustainable development: an international policy framework 10. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the most recent expression of an international policy framework highlighting the relevance of families in the development process. However, that international consensus has a much longer history and has been forged in recent decades as part of wider development and social protection debates, advocating for strong family-focused policies as part of national and international efforts to ensure the realization of the right to an adequate standard of living, sustainable development and poverty reduction. 2 3 4 5 4 See, for example, Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 18 (2); Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 23 (3). The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (art. 11 (1)) enshrines the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family. Furthermore, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its general comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing, states that the wording “himself and his family” should not be read as implying any limitations upon the applicability of the right to individuals or to female-headed households or to other such groups. All submissions are available from www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/ProtectionFamily.aspx. See joint letter from four special procedure mandate holders to the President of the Human Rights Council (3 July 2015), available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WRGS/ JointLetterPresidentHRCProtectionFamily.pdf; statement by the Chair of the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures (A/HRC/28/41, annex X); and letter from the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice to the President of the Human Rights Council (1 September 2015), available from www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Women/WG/ProtectionOfFamily.pdf.