A/HRC/7/32 page 21 Annex II CONSULTATIONS WITH PEOPLE LIVING IN EXTREME POVERTY ON THE DRAFT GUIDING PRINCIPLES The consultations organized by the International Movement ATD Fourth World with regard to the draft guiding principles, which took place in France, Peru, Poland, Senegal and Thailand, enabled individuals from very different social and professional backgrounds to meet in order to better understand how the most disadvantaged cope with extreme poverty and to evaluate the draft guiding principles. The request by the Human Rights Council that the opinions of individuals living in poverty and extreme poverty be solicited is a very interesting and innovative initiative, leading to a better understanding of how to create the conditions needed to more fully take into account the efforts, experiences and thinking of excluded persons and populations in the elaboration of international texts. The exchanges brought to light the following points: Extreme poverty cannot be resolved through charity, and aid should destroy neither the dignity nor the creativity of recipients. Public and private bodies engaged in the fight against extreme poverty should consider this aid as a support and an accompaniment based on trust and respect. The participants in the consultations and the persons who sent comments placed a special emphasis on the right to possess official citizenship documents, the right to food, the right to health, and the right to education so that their children will not have to endure the same hardships that they have experienced. The participants asked that the right to live as a family receive a stronger emphasis in the draft guiding principles. Those who work testified to the harshness of their working conditions and the low pay they receive, making it impossible to escape from poverty, and they asked that a right to time off be included in the draft guiding principles. They asked that schools, beginning at the primary level, teach solidarity and respect, building on the country’s moral values. There were high expectations that public authorities would work for the elimination of corruption in order to ensure that aid actually reaches those most in need, rather than those relatively better off. The participants also asked that the laws be enforced concerning the right to work, and the protection of children from human trafficking. They were concerned about the elimination of child labour, unless it is accomplished within the context of an overall policy to raise families’ incomes. They also said that the dissemination of information regarding rights and access to justice needed to be improved. Women also asked to be more involved in decision-making and in anti-poverty programmes.