A/HRC/7/15 page 8 proxy variable for all the good things in life constituting well-being, and can be considered desirable in itself, representing power, status, security and command over resources, even when these are not actually used. 28. The third component of poverty is social exclusion, which is quite distinct from the other components, yet is an essential component of the concept of deprivation of well-being. It affects the level of different human development indicators and, often, the level of income itself, just as income and human development also influence social exclusion. Social exclusion is thus the opposite of social integration, where the poor, the unemployed, ethnic minorities and vulnerable groups have remained “outsiders” in the social hierarchy. It is this relational aspect of social exclusion which brings in a distinct added value in identifying problems associated with poverty. 29. While income and human development poverty focus on individuals, implying deprivation owing to lack of income or failure to achieve a certain level of human development, social exclusion focuses on social relations, thereby implying deprivation because of membership of a certain social group whose interaction with other groups causes that deprivation. The relevant issues, then, concern the nature and causes of the disruption of social bonds, inability of the group to participate in society, the discrimination they faced, or the denial of their rights within the existing legal system. 30. The independent expert noted that, at key international events such as the Copenhagen World Summit on Social Development or in the Millennium Declaration, the international community affirmed that poverty was not limited to economic deprivation but entailed social, cultural and political deprivation as well.3 31. Extreme poverty can therefore be identified with people suffering from income poverty (being below an agreed level of minimum disposable income or expenditure required for leading a sustainable life) and people suffering from human development poverty (without access to, or availability of, certain basic goods and services to make it possible for them to lead a meaningful life) as well as people in social exclusion (without basic security to lead an adequate social existence, dependent on the structure of social relationships). 32. Though there are major overlaps and interdependence between the concepts, since both income deprivation and human development deprivation occur within a social context, these are distinct spheres of analysis that have to be pursued in terms of their respective characteristics and domains in order to achieve more effective methods of addressing the problems raised. 33. There are several advantages of viewing poverty in this manner. Firstly, it is possible to develop indicators for these forms of poverty from the existing data, which not only capture the outcomes but also the process aspects of activities, and not only the availability of goods and services but also the access to them. 3 The Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development of the World Summit on Social Development, 1995, paras. 2 and 9. Available at: www.un-documents.net/cope-dec.htm.