A/HRC/7/15 page 20 people in the national poverty assessment study involving 1,000 people, a community action planning process whereby communities developed action plans to solve the problems they had identified; a policy relevance test was also conducted in 38 of 100 districts, where 10,000 people participated in focus groups.23 The Lesotho poverty reduction strategy paper took longer to complete because of the extensive process of participatory consultation, to ensure better quality of the result.24 In Benin, the preparation process was supported by a consultation and participation by local governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector and development partners. 77. Countries have nonetheless faced various problems while attempting to introduce a more participatory approach. In Kenya, less than 10 per cent of parliamentarians attended consultations. In Malawi, the district consultations excluded ordinary citizens and elected representatives. In Djibouti, there has been very little participation of the civil society in the design of public policies; however, since the 1990s, it has witnessed a boom in the creation of grass-roots associations capable of mobilizing communities, that are determined and dynamic and involve women and youth. However, the scope of their actions is limited by lack of structure, weak technical and institutional capacity, and severely limited financial means. In Gambia, the Pro-Poor Advocacy Group has conducted a number of training activities and will continue with the training and capacity-building effort for civil society organizations. At the local level, participation in public resource management will take place in the context of decentralization under the Decentralization and Local Government Act. C. Accountability and transparency 78. Accountability focuses on how to transform right-holders from passive recipients of aid into empowered claimants. Since duty-bearers are accountable for the failure in the fulfilment of their duties, there should be appropriate legal procedures to cover the process of implementation, indicators to assess the process, reforms of the judiciary and other institutions that can provide evaluation and assist in overcoming corruption, as well as effective governance. 79. States and the international community at large have the responsibility of realizing universal human rights. Thus, monitoring and accountability procedures should not only involve States but also extend to global actors such as the donor community, intergovernmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations and transnational corporations, whose actions have a bearing on the enjoyment of human rights. 80. Of the mechanisms that can help ensure accountability and transparency, the medium-term expenditure framework is a way to establish links between the poverty reduction strategy process 23 Fantu Cheru (2006), Building and Supporting PRSPs in Africa: What has worked well so far? What needs changing?, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 355-376. 24 Benjamin Roberts, Exploring the PRSP process in Lesotho: reflections on process, content, public finance, donor support and capacity need, Economic Commission of Africa, Third Meeting of the African Learning Group on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, 3-4 December 2003, at www.uneca.org/prsp/docs/srd_prsp/Final_Lesetho.PDF.