A/HRC/23/54 between growth, employment and sovereign debt, the developmental role of the state, the basic needs of people and the role of local communities in development planning. 13. Representatives of China, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Defensoría del Pueblo de Venezuela, North-South XXI, the Indian Movement “Tupaj Amaru” and the Ligue marocaine pour la citoyenneté et les droits de l’homme took part in the ensuing dialogue that addressed the right to development, anti-poverty policies, representative participation in decision-making processes, neoliberalism, multiple global crises and structural adjustment programmes. It was suggested that developed countries should assume greater responsibility for the consequences of their actions, abolish the debt burden of developing countries and provide compensation for former colonial countries. 14. In concluding remarks, the panellists responded to specific questions raised and comments made. Myrna Cunningham addressed the significant impact of global crises on the human rights of indigenous peoples and described “good living” indicators elaborated by the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Delphine Djiraibe emphasized that oil revenues in her country had been misappropriated as a result of corruption and increasing militarization. Martin Khor stressed the importance of clarifying State human rights obligations with regards to policies that negatively impact other States. On the issue of sovereign debt, he argued for policies that promote responsible lending and borrowing and a sovereign debt arbitration mechanism. Johan Galtung emphasized the importance of harnessing the positive elements of capitalism for development, while avoiding increased inequality and social pathologies by keeping development planning open to a variety of development models and the totality of human experiences. B. Participatory development 15. Virginia Dandan, the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, described a human rights community development project jointly sponsored by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and the New Zealand Human Rights Commission in indigenous communities in the Philippines and New Zealand. The Independent Expert related her experience as leader of the project in the Philippines, working with Bajau indigenous communities. She highlighted the significant progress achieved by the project in promoting positive development outcomes and human rights awareness within the Bajau community through culturally appropriate project design and self-determined development. She emphasized that human rights practitioners should not focus exclusively on preventing rights violations but should also seek to empower people and communities to maximize their own well-being. In this context, human rights should determine how we live together as one human family. 16. Maria Mercedes Rossi, Representative of the Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII, stressed that development was an integral process that had to respect and promote all aspects of human well-being, including the spiritual; therefore, it could not be measured by purely economic growth. In order to promote holistic growth, people, particularly the most vulnerable, should be the protagonists of their own development. Maria Mercedes Rossi presented two of her organization’s projects in Zambia (the Rainbow Project and the Chichetekelo Youth Project) as examples of people-centred, participatory development in which community participation was critical to successful development outcomes. In her view, development entailed providing individuals and communities with opportunities to express themselves and empowering them to pursue their own objectives. 17. Robert Moulias, President of Allô maltraitance des personnes âgees et/ou des personnes handicapées, discussed the importance of the active participation of older persons in society. He emphasized that populations were ageing worldwide and described examples of efforts to promote active ageing. Keeping physically and mentally active and 6