A/HRC/12/36 page 18 formal education sector, whether they are professionals or vulnerable groups. Several submissions shared the view that a lifelong learning approach is essential in offering human rights education to adults as well. 77. As the media play an important role globally owing to their potential to affect social change, 10 respondents suggested targeting them in human rights education activities. The private sector and business people were also mentioned, as were social workers. 78. Several respondents considered that human rights education should be aiming at the general public, while the contribution of the non-governmental sector to carrying out human rights education was also highlighted. 79. Specific groups of rights holders were also raised in various submissions as in need of human rights education in order to be able to defend their rights, namely: vulnerable persons in general; children, including migrant and disabled children; migrants and migrant labourers; persons with disabilities; women, minorities and indigenous people; deprived and rural communities; and the elderly. 80. The responses were also quite diverse with regard to possible thematic areas. While several respondents pointed to the need for a holistic approach to human rights education, the majority made specific recommendations. 81. Civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights were cited generally in several submissions, while other replies pointed to more specific rights. Nine contributions noted the eradication of poverty and ensuring human rights for people in poverty through human rights education as goals. The right to development and the human rights-based approach to development were highlighted in several replies. Some respondents mentioned employment rights and the right to work specifically, while others brought up the right to health and reproductive rights. Certain respondents recalled that the right to education needed to be linked with human rights education and the rights-based approach to schooling. Other specific rights mentioned in the consultation were the rights to food, housing and water. Additionally, the importance of linking the Millennium Development Goals with human rights norms was stressed explicitly as both areas are mutually reinforcing. Certain respondents named other specific rights relevant to daily lives in various national contexts, e.g. freedom of information, speech and expression; freedom of religion; privacy; and freedom of assembly. Several submissions emphasized the importance of using education to eliminate violence and in relation to torture prevention. 82. The importance of human rights education for combating discrimination and inequality as a cross-cutting issue appeared in 10 replies and an explicit link to the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was made as well. 83. As concerns the length of the future second phase, the responses ranged from 2 to 10 years, with the majority of respondents appearing to prefer 5 years, followed by 3 years. Several respondents recommended that an extension of the second phase should be considered in case progress is slower in the second phase. -----