A/HRC/19/70 agenda. Giving some practical examples of how the right to education promotes the right to development, Mr. Singh also highlighted challenges in advancing the right to education in a development perspective. 17. The statement by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepulveda, was read out by Yoonie Kim, OHCHR staff supporting the mandate. It emphasized that the Declaration on the Right to Development had laid the cornerstone for a participatory development process. One of the biggest challenges to the realization of the right was the alarming rise in inequality, between and within countries. Social protection systems put the human person at the centre of the development process, had mitigating effects and promoted enjoyment of rights. The Special Rapporteur emphasized participation in social protection systems as a key human right in itself and the key to the effectiveness of development policies. Full realization of the right to development depended on empowerment of women; policymakers should devote increased attention to gender equality. International assistance and cooperation was the lynchpin in the realization of the right to development. She suggested that States should consider a financial transaction tax in order to recover the cost of the economic crisis. The governance of financial institutions had to be more inclusive, more representative and more open. 18. Virginia Dandan, independent expert on human rights and international solidarity, underlined that international solidarity should be an indispensable component of efforts to realize the right to development, which could help to lessen the gap between developed and developing countries by buttressing rhetoric and declarations with tangible actions. International solidarity as a human right connected diverse people into a harmonious whole. Ms. Dandan underlined the importance of listening to the voice of the people. There was a need to go beyond expectations and seek and learn how development and well-being were defined by people themselves. Achieving the MDGs and the right to development would call for a more enlightened approach based on a sense of community and international solidarity. Much could be learned from everyday people, who lived their lives in community, addressed their problems and eventually found solutions, coming together in solidarity, in the exercise of their right to development. 19. During the ensuing interactive debate, interventions were made by representatives of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Institute Maria de Don Bosco, Cuba, Qatar, the Association Communitar Mercedes, North-South XXI, the Association of World Citizens, Housing and Land Rights Network, Ecuador and Egypt. It was mentioned that the right to development reinforced the message that only an equitable, multilateral system that worked for both developed and developing countries alike could help achieve MDGs and other development goals. Human rights were an intrinsic part of development. Mainstreaming human rights into development using a human rights-based approach added value when analysing the structural causes of poverty, increasing the understanding of who was excluded and why. This approach was conceptually underpinned by the right to development, which should be viewed of as a set of enabling policies, principles and procedures that had evolved from three decades of development practice and embodied the consensus of international community today. The importance of quality education for achieving the right to development was underlined. Concern was expressed over the increasing number of people suffering from hunger, malnutrition and poverty, the limited transfer of technology, usually with conditionality, the contraction of official development assistance, the impact of the global crises on developing countries and the impact of unilateral coercive measures. There was a need for international cooperation genuinely aimed at achieving all human rights, promoting economic development and disarmament. National efforts for the realization of the right to development were shared by the speakers. There was a need to remove obstacles to development, including asymmetries in the global market, the failing liberal economic model and exploitation of natural resources, and to resolve conflict and war. Human rights had to be at the centre of the fight against extreme 7