A/HRC/27/29 I. Introduction 1. In paragraph six of its resolution 24/8, the Human Rights Council requested that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights prepare a study on factors that impede equal political participation and on steps to overcome these challenges. The resolution asks for the work of the special procedures, the treaty bodies and other international human rights mechanisms to be taken into account in the study. 2. Political and public participation rights play a crucial role in the promotion of democratic governance, the rule of law, social inclusion and economic development, as well as in the advancement of all human rights. The right to directly and indirectly participate in political and public life is important in empowering individuals and groups, and is one of the core elements of human rights-based approaches aimed at eliminating marginalization and discrimination. Participation rights are inextricably linked to other human rights such as the rights to peaceful assembly and association, freedom of expression and opinion and the rights to education and to information. 3. Obstacles to equal political and public participation exist in many contexts. These barriers may include direct and indirect discrimination on grounds such as race, colour, descent, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, birth, disability, nationality or other status. Even when there is no formal discrimination in connection with political or public participation, inequalities in access to other human rights may impede the effective exercise of political participation rights. 4. International human rights mechanisms have observed that women, indigenous peoples, minorities, persons with disabilities, human rights defenders, non-citizens and other marginalized or excluded individuals and groups are frequently unable to fully participate in political and public affairs on an equal basis. This disadvantage is heightened where multiple or intersecting grounds of discrimination are involved.1 5. The present study will begin with an overview of the scope of participation rights in international law. It will then look at restrictions on political and public participation rights and at discrimination as major barriers to equal participation. The concluding section of the study suggests some measures that could be taken to overcome the obstacles to equal political and public participation that have been identified. II. The scope of rights to participate in political and public affairs 6. The right to participate on a basis of equality in public and political life is a central feature of the concept of inclusive democracy.2 The effective participation of all individuals and groups in political and public affairs underpins the realization of human rights and forms a central component of rights-based strategies aimed at eradicating discrimination and inequalities (A/HRC/13/23, para. 28). 1 2 See, for example, A/HRC/13/23, para. 56; Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation No. 28 (2010), para. 18; and Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, General Recommendation No. 25 (2000). See the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 21; Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 25 (1996), para. 21; and A/HRC/22/29, paras. 7–9. 3