A/HRC/44/46 efforts, such as affirmative measures, as indicated in the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Participation in public life is fundamental for eliminating stereotypes, prejudice and exclusion. The exclusion or underrepresentation of certain groups in decision-making processes contributes to segregated societies and limits the possibilities of disadvantaged groups to protect their own interests. The principles and guidelines uphold the right of persons affected and their family members to take part in political and public life through the fulfilment of the general principle of equality and the prohibition of discrimination. 64. One critical aspect for the promotion of participation by persons affected and their family members is indicated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Unarguably, there are several systemic barriers to the full and meaningful participation of marginalized groups, which persons affected and their families often face. Such barriers include: illiteracy and low educational qualifications; legal impediments; inaccessibility of administrative procedures and requirements; inaccessibility and unintelligibility of the information being provided; physical and environmental barriers; and lack of support mechanisms for overcoming structural disadvantages reflected in unequal and unfair socioeconomic and education status. Article 29 of the Convention, by fully acknowledging those multiple barriers, affirms the obligation of the State to actively promote enabling environments, ensuring equality, guarantees to free expression, accessibility, accommodation of procedures and support. Accessibility as an indispensable condition for the fulfilment of the right to participation relates to information, communication, infrastructure and transport. 65. In order to promote the participation of persons affected and their family members, States are required to identify and remove any legal barrier, as well as any institutionalized discriminatory practice. Adopting temporary special measures to guarantee de facto equality in participation in public affairs, as endorsed by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in its general recommendation No. 23 (1997) on women in political and public life, may also be needed. The implementation of all measures aimed at barrier-free participation, as indicated in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an indispensable condition. Participation goes hand in hand with the active promotion of empowerment. C. Access to justice 66. Access to justice is one of the main instruments for protecting civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. It is through the equal and effective guarantee of access to justice that people may stand up in defence of their rights, objecting to situations of discrimination and violation and holding policymakers accountable. In the declaration of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the rule of law at the national and international levels, Member States emphasized the importance of equal access to justice for all and of capacity-building concerning legal rights, committing themselves to taking all steps necessary to provide fair, transparent, effective, non-discriminatory and accountable services that promote access to justice, including legal aid. A comprehensive approach to ensuring access to justice must take into consideration the plurality of justice systems and address formal courts, specialized agencies, quasi-judicial mechanisms and traditional justice systems. 67. The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights identified the main obstacles that people in vulnerable conditions must overcome to fully and equally exercise the right to access justice, which included: social and cultural barriers; legal and normative barriers; institutional and structural obstacles in the justice chain; non-existent or inadequate legal assistance; and structural problems of the judicial processes, encompassing formalism and differences in language and culture (see A/67/278). In its general recommendation No. 33 (2015) on women’s access to justice, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women highlighted a set of obstacles experienced by women and girls regarding access to justice, many of which are shared by persons affected, and especially women affected, by leprosy, such as stereotyping, discriminatory laws, intersecting forms of discrimination, procedural and evidentiary requirements and practices 17