A/HRC/23/36 participatory mechanisms with a legal basis, providing for “access to appropriate information, adequate support, feedback … and procedures for complaints, remedies or redress” (CRC/C/GC/12, para. 48). Participation should not be a one-off event, but requires a long process of intensive dialogue regarding the development of policies, programmes and measures in all relevant contexts (ibid., para. 13). For example, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has said that participation in decision-making processes must be an integral component of any policy, programme or strategy related to the rights to health and water (E/C.12/2000/4, para. 54, and E/C.12/2002/11, para. 48). The right is not limited to participation in formal political institutions, but also in civil, cultural and social activities (A/HRC/18/42, Annex, para. 5); for example, the right to take part in cultural life is also an essential element of the right to participation, and States must adopt concrete measures to ensure enjoyment of this right (E/C.12/GC/21, para. 39). 27. All human rights are interdependent and indivisible, and participation is no exception. Ensuring effective and meaningful participation of people living in poverty thus requires that a broad set of interlinked human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled by the State, especially freedom of expression (Universal Declaration of Human Rights art. 19, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 19), freedom of assembly (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 20; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 21), freedom of association (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 20; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 22; Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, art. 7(c); Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 15), the right to seek, receive and impart information (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 19; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 19) and the right to education, including the right to human rights education (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 13.1; Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 26.2; Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 29.1; Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 24(c)). All these rights are necessary preconditions to participation: in order to participate effectively, all members of the public must be able to organize, meet, express themselves without intimidation or censorship, know the relevant facts and arguments, be conscious of their rights and have the requisite skills and capacity. To ensure accountability and access to remedy and redress in cases where rights are violated, States parties should also ensure that all members of the public have effective access to justice, including the right to a fair trial (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, arts. 8 and 10; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 14) and the right to an effective remedy (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 3) (A/67/578). 28. Regarding the right to information, States have to make every effort to ensure easy, prompt, effective and practical access to information which might be of public interest, including by proactively making this information available and putting in place necessary procedures which enable prompt, effective, practical and easy access to information. Fees charged should not constitute an unreasonable impediment to access to information, and an appeals system should be in place to challenge failures to provide information (CCPR/C/CG/34). 29. Education is a key human right in itself, and a means by which disadvantaged adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and participate fully in their communities (E/C.12/1999/10, para. 1). The right to education, as reflected in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, specifically provides that education shall “enable all persons to participate effectively in a free society”; educational programmes should therefore transmit the necessary knowledge to enable full participation, on an equal footing, in local and national communities (E/C.12/GC/21, para. 27). 8