A/HRC/13/51 64. Following the above presentations, in an interactive debate, the representatives of Indonesia, Mexico, Sweden and Viet Nam and the member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights made statements, as did the International Federation of University of Women, CIVICUS, the Flemish League of Human Rights and Dr. Salomon. 65. There was consensus that policy coherence discussions should address the consistency of the development agenda with human rights normative standards, reiterating that, in its general comments, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights consistently requested that developed and developing countries take into account their human rights obligations in their policies and decisions, including through international cooperation and assistance. International cooperation was not limited to financial assistance, but included addressing the global economic system and its underlying impediments. It was repeatedly emphasized that donors should continue to provide resources to less developed countries to help them achieve their development objectives, complying with the ODA commitment of 0.7 per cent of GDP, and most importantly to improve aid effectiveness. Policy coherence also required human rights obligations of Member States to be observed, despite the different undertakings assumed under other international agreements. Applying a human rights perspective to development activities was not a policy option but a legal requirement, and failure to do so would prevent the achievement of meaningful development and equitable outcomes. 66. A focus on non-discrimination, equality and gender dimensions and the prioritization of the most marginalized and vulnerable population groups living in poverty were widely recognized as critical elements of a human rights perspective. The Millennium Development Goals had to be customized to the development needs and concerns of each country in order to be meaningful. Speakers underscored the role played by United Nations agencies, Member States, international and non-governmental organizations and civil society, as well as the proactive roles of different human rights mechanisms, in incorporating the human rights concerns into the Millennium Development Goals and the efforts to combat poverty. 2. Strengthening the effectiveness of international assistance and cooperation 67. Senior Lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights of the London School of Economics, Margot Salomon, drew on a range of findings in highlighting the fact that the dominant neo-liberal economic policies of the past two and a half decades had failed to achieve their stipulated goals of faster economic growth, reduced poverty and more stable economies. A key message arising from these developments was that the state of world poverty today was not an accident, but rather a consequence of the policies pursued. International cooperation for the realization of human rights would be strengthened by addressing both poverty (the position of those worst off) as well as global economic inequality, for many reasons, including because the process of inequality was a product of asymmetrical power and influence globally, and because global inequality was a cause of arbitrary disadvantage and the denial of human rights. The ability of the poor to participate in the shared life of a global society was rendered impossible owing to their absolute position of poverty; this was further exacerbated by the exclusion caused by their relational poverty. Moreover, world poverty constituted indirect discrimination against the poor: the rules governing the global economy may not set out to exclude certain people from access to an adequate standard of living, but that was the effect that they had had. 68. In the context of past policy failures and the negative effects of the financial crisis, Dr. Salomon maintained that the burden of proof now rested on relevant Governments, policymakers and international financial institutions to show that reforms were in the best interest of the poor. The international law doctrine of due diligence should be given a stronger role in order to bolster global poverty eradication policies and facilitate the 14 GE.09-17229