A/HRC/21/45 V. Good practices and promising trends 53. As a democratic international order demands well-functioning interaction between the democratic will of peoples and the concrete policies that affect them, an equitable international order requires a correlation between production and wealth, performance and reward, and rejects the excesses of the uncontrolled financial markets that have more than once adversely impacted on the world economy, causing hardship such as the unemployment and loss of savings and pensions of millions of people. In the light of the persistence of extreme poverty in the world, including in developed countries, exorbitant salaries and bonuses, as well as currency speculation, constitute unethical practices. Efforts in many countries to regulate the financial markets are commendable but risk remaining insufficient. 54. Any progress in the fields of codification, monitoring and enforcement of human rights is welcome, even if achieved by homeopathic doses. In her 2012 report on strengthening the United Nations human rights treaty body system (A/66/860), the High Commissioner for Human Rights welcomed greater ratification of the core human rights treaties. The goal is universal ratification, accompanied by education so that greater awareness of human rights permeates government and society in a sustainable manner. At this stage, the Independent Expert has not yet developed benchmarks to assess, measure and compare what qualitatively could be considered ―best practices‖. He will further consult stakeholders in this respect. 55. With respect to a democratic international order, the mandate holder values the progress achieved in the empowerment of women in many countries, the greater transparency shown in elections, and the added value of election monitoring by many actors. As stated earlier, a democratic international order is best secured by a growing number of democratic States and by the constant improvement of democratic institutions. Democracy also requires an informed citizenry that can articulate its wishes and can choose among policies in periodic elections and by referenda. A democratic international order requires greater transparency and respect for the needs and aspirations of peoples in all regions of the world, regardless of economic power or geopolitical strategic importance, giving due regard to national sovereignty and the right of self-determination. 56. The mandate holder is studying the democratic traditions of many countries and practices of popular initiatives, referenda, recall and impeachment. He intends to explore the feasibility of using aspects of the ―direct democracy‖ 26 model more broadly, which would give populations the opportunity to choose among policies and not only persons. It should be remembered that the right to vote is not identical with the right to choose. The manifold aspects involved in giving civil society the right to initiate legislation by petition, which could be put to a general vote if a certain number of signatures is reached, and the possibility of referenda on legislation already passed will be explored. Perhaps combining aspects of direct democracy and representative democracy could be appropriate for some countries. 26 18 See Johannes Reich, ―An interactional model of direct democracy: lessons from the Swiss experience‖ (2008). Available from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1154019; Jon Elster, ed., Deliberative Democracy (1998); Carne Ross, The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century (2011); Takis Fotopoulos, Towards an Inclusive Democracy: The Crisis of the Growth Economy and the Need for a New Liberatory Project (1997).