A/HRC/39/18 spheres and it can be systemic or structural. International human rights instruments typically contain a non-exhaustive list of prohibited grounds of discrimination, including “property” — comprising wealth and income — as well as “other status”. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights subsumes a person’s social and economic situation, such as the situation in which the poor and homeless find themselves, in the latter category.10 Not every differentiation amounts to prohibited discrimination, however, if there is a reasonable and objective justification for the differential treatment. Thus, if a complainant can provide evidence for a prima facie case of discrimination, the burden of proving that the differentiation was reasonable and objectively justified or the consequence of an alternative explanation shifts to the respondent. 35. Finally, in order to eliminate substantive inequality, States may be under an obligation to adopt special measures to remedy the conditions causing the discrimination in question.11 36. International human rights law applies primarily in the relationship between States and persons or sub-State groups subject to their jurisdiction and individuals within the power or effective control of the respective State. 37. Sovereign equality of States is a fundamental principle of international law and of the United Nations. 12 The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations specifies six elements of sovereign equality: (a) States are judicially equal; (b) Each State enjoys the rights inherent in full sovereignty; (c) Each State has the duty to respect the personality of other States; (d) The territorial integrity and political independence of the State are inviolable; (e) Each State has the right freely to choose and develop its political, social, economic and cultural systems; and (f) Each State has the duty to comply fully and in good faith with its international obligations and to live in peace with other States. 38. The right to development is a right of individuals and peoples — a right that requires an enabling environment at the national, regional and global levels for development and an order in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized. While the Declaration on the Right to Development reaffirms the principles of international law concerning friendly relations and cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, including the principle of sovereign equality of States, it is also based on a more substantive understanding of equality between States, as an important requirement for the realization of human rights globally (art. 3). 39. More generally, the right to development demands an enabling environment for development. The responsibility for the creation of this enabling environment encompasses three main levels: (a) States acting collectively in global and regional partnerships; (b) States acting individually as they adopt and implement policies that affect persons not strictly within their jurisdiction; and (c) States acting individually as they formulate national development policies and programmes affecting persons within their jurisdiction. 13 The first two levels overlap with States’ extraterritorial obligations to respect, protect and fulfil certain human rights. According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural 10 11 12 13 See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009) on nondiscrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, para. 35. See Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 25 (2004) on temporary special measures. Charter of the United Nations, art. 2 (1). A/HRC/15/WG.2/TF/2/Add.2, annex. See paper prepared by Olivier De Schutter, “The international dimensions of the right to development: a fresh start towards improving accountability”, available from www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Development/Pages/19thSession.aspx, paras. 19–27. 7