A/HRC/42/38/Add.1 are funded through workers’ contributions (an increase of 0.5 per cent in their contribution rate to the national institute for social security), employers’ contributions (whose rates of contribution increased by 1.5 per cent) and a contribution from the national institute for social security itself (1.5 per cent).29 43. The Special Rapporteur was impressed by the significant work carried out by the authorities to increase the social protection coverage of the population, through contributory and non-contributory schemes. The coverage rate is one of the highest in the region and is considered by the International Labour Organization to be a successful experience of expansion of social protection.30 The Special Rapporteur also considers as a positive development that issues related to social protection are discussed in a social consultation council, which includes numerous stakeholders. 44. The Special Rapporteur has also learned about the challenges faced by migrants, who have come to seek a better life in Cabo Verde, particularly on islands where the economy is oriented towards servicing the tourist industry. Many migrants end up living in slums, in conditions of extreme poverty and vulnerability, in a country with already high unemployment and struggling education and health-care systems. The Special Rapporteur considers it a good practice that the social protection scheme is extended to immigrants who have resided legally in the country for over three years. V. Issues of concern: inclusion and participation A. Civil society 45. The Special Rapporteur strongly believes that the role of civil society organizations and their cooperation with the authorities and other relevant stakeholders is fundamental to the advancement of the right to development and of human rights more broadly. He was pleased to learn from civil society organizations that they have been included in the discussions leading to the formulation of domestic development policies and legislation. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to institutionalize consultation processes when working on development policies and legislation, in particular where decisions will affect the economic and social rights of the population. 46. Some of the representatives of organizations with whom the Special Rapporteur met raised concerns about differing levels of inclusion among the urban and rural populations and the populations on the smaller islands, and about the low levels of outreach and participation opportunities at the municipal level, particularly in rural areas. He also learned about the shrinking of civic space, as both the international community and the Government had reduced funding for civil society organizations following the country’s “graduation” from least developed country status, which has led those organizations to compete against each other for fewer resources. This important gap needs to be addressed both through a mobilization of national resources and through international cooperation. B. Equality and the right to development 47. The concepts of non-discrimination, equality and the equitable distribution of the benefits of development are enshrined in the Declaration on the Right to Development: its preamble declares that equality of opportunity for development is a prerogative both of nations and of individuals who make up nations. Article 2 (3) reaffirms that States have the right and the duty to formulate appropriate national development policies that aim at the constant improvement of the well-being of the entire population and of all individuals on the basis of their active, free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of the benefits resulting therefrom. Article 5 refers to a duty of States to take resolute steps to eliminate the massive and flagrant violations of the human rights of 29 30 Ibid., para. 110. See www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/RessourcePDF.action?ressource.ressourceId=50638. 11