A/HRC/2/2 A/HRC/Sub.1/58/36 page 32 5. States, as well as all the organs of society at the local, national, regional and international level, have an obligation to take effective action to eliminate extreme poverty; to that end they must act in a structured and accountable manner, in partnership with persons living in extreme poverty, and must periodically report on their actions at all levels, especially the local and national levels, in accordance with applicable legal norms. At the international level, States must account for their actions in the periodic reports they submit to the bodies monitoring compliance with treaties, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 6. States, intergovernmental organizations, national and transnational enterprises and non-governmental organizations, inter alia, have a responsibility to take into account and fully respect human rights, in particular the principles set out in the present document. Infringements of these rights by the above-mentioned entities, whether arising from negligence or from a deliberate decision, should be regarded as violations of human rights and their perpetrators should be held responsible, with the corresponding legal consequences. Section 1 A. Participation by the poor 7. Persons living in extreme poverty have the right to participate in all activities which concern them, particularly programmes for the eradication of extreme poverty. The implementation of such policies and programmes without the participation of the persons concerned and their associations and organizations constitutes a violation of the right to participate in public affairs. 8. States should foster and promote participation by the poorest people in the decision-making process in the societies in which they live, in the promotion of human rights and in efforts to combat extreme poverty. They should also empower people living in poverty and vulnerable groups to organize themselves and to participate in all aspects of political, economic and social life, in particular the planning and implementation of policies that affect them, thus enabling them to become genuine partners in development.3 9. States should take action in every sphere to combat the feminization of poverty and ensure the participation of women in all their anti-poverty programmes. Every programme or piece of legislation aimed at eliminating extreme poverty should seek to take into account the different situations of women and men and to rectify inequalities between girls and boys and between women and men with regard to the use of resources, access to rights, the exercise of responsibilities and support for family life. 10. Programmes to combat poverty should be publicly available, and should set specific targets and specify indicators to facilitate evaluation of their implementation as well as mechanisms for monitoring and accountability. The State and public and private agencies which 3 General Assembly resolution 55/106, dated 14 March 2001.