A/HRC/19/32 III. Analytical compilation of comments on the draft guiding principles A. General comments 5. In his opening remarks to the Consultation, the Permanent Representative of France, Jean-Baptiste Mattei, pointed out that the approach taken by the Guiding Principles was based on the interdependence and indivisibility of all human rights, as well as on the principles of participation by and empowerment of people living in extreme poverty. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, stressed the entanglement of extreme poverty and human rights: on one hand, those living in extreme poverty were often also deprived of their human rights, both civil and political and economic and social, on the other hand, a human rights approach to the alleviation of extreme poverty was crucial for understanding and counteracting the condition. The President of the Human Rights Council, Laura Dupuy Lasserre, Permanent Representative of Uruguay, added that many of the written submissions received converged on several core observations in relation to extreme poverty, notably on the importance of human dignity, non-discrimination, access to basic goods and services, an effective rule of law fostering the realization of human rights, a recognition of the heightened vulnerability of specific groups, and an integrated vision of human development. 6. The Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona, noted that when considering revisions and additions to the current DGPs, stakeholders should bear in mind their overall purpose as practical guidance for policy-makers, an advocacy tool for anti-poverty campaigners, and, most importantly, a means of empowerment for persons living in extreme poverty. She said that a rights-based approach to poverty reduction did represent an added value, both in terms of understanding the causes of poverty and in formulating responses to it. She also stated that the process had been initiated by States and it was, therefore, fundamental that States took an active part in the DGPs finalization. B. Regarding part II: “Rationale for the development of guiding principles on human rights and extreme poverty” Question: “Based on the report of the independent expert (HRC/15/41), what would be the added value of guiding principles on human rights and extreme poverty?” 7. The Government of Canada and the National Human Rights Commission of France recalled the definitions of poverty elaborated by the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the former independent expert on extreme poverty and human rights and other bodies, and recommended that the DGPs should take a broad and all-inclusive approach to the issue of extreme poverty. In this vein Edmund Rice International (ERI) added that the focus should be on the structural causes of extreme poverty, of which social exclusion and discrimination were already identified in the current draft guiding principles. 8. The Government of Guatemala welcomed the focus on specific vulnerable groups and the special emphasis given to women and children. The Governments of Morocco and of the Philippines, however, reiterated the DGPs‟ stated purpose to not focus in detail on specific vulnerable groups, and, indeed, to not create a new vulnerable group, though they did approve of the privileged space given to women and children throughout the draft. 5