A/HRC/25/27 3. Vulnerable and marginalized groups 38. When considering how public services facilitate the realization of human rights, States must bear in mind that there are demographic groups in every society that may be disadvantaged in their access to public services, namely women, children, migrants, persons with disabilities, indigenous persons and older persons.25 States need to ensure that the human rights of these groups are not undermined and that they receive adequate public services. 39. The universal periodic reviews have included several recommendations to States to intensify measures to fully realize the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular their representation in civil service and public institutions.26 40. The participation of women and the effective provision of services to them should also be considered when administering the delivery of public services. It follows that States should also monitor the implementation of those services for quality control purposes on an ongoing basis. 41. Poverty acts as a major barrier in relation to public services. For those individuals living in poverty, it is imperative that access to services is ensured, using multiple delivery channels to ensure the most effective outreach towards and saturation of the relevant beneficiary groups.27 The right to social security is of central importance in guaranteeing human dignity, particularly for those in situations of extreme poverty.28 To ensure that poverty is not a barrier to receiving adequate public services, measures need to be put in place, such as participatory and pro-poor budgeting, which focus more directly on citizens in budget formulation, implementation, monitoring and control.29 D. Public services at the international level 42. International, regional and subregional organizations have grown rapidly in strength and number in recent years. In today’s globalized community, they are working with States on an increasingly collaborative basis to improve public service administration, especially in conflict, post-conflict and disaster situations. 43. The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals as a global development agenda is inextricably linked with the provision of effective public services. Many of the Millennium Development Goals, such as achieving universal primary education, aim to improve the delivery of public services. Given the impending target date for the Millennium Development Goals — 2015 — attention is now being focused on post-2015 development, not only within the United Nations,30 but also across States. The Report of the 25 26 27 28 29 30 See, for example, the thematic study on the realization of the right to health of older persons by the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (A/HRC/18/37). See, for example, the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review on Argentina (A/HRC/8/34). See the report of the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty (A/HRC/17/34). Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 19 (2007) on the right to social security, para. 1. E/C.16/2006/4, para. 52. See, for example, UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda – Realizing the Future We Want for All: Report to the Secretary-General, June 2012. Available from www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/Post_2015_UNTTreport.pdf. 11