A/HRC/25/31 lack effective access to justice for economic, social and cultural rights violations54 and has frequently recommended that States ensure such access.55 This section will consider several aspects of access that the United Nations system has dealt with in more detail, including physical accessibility, affordability, legal assistance, access to information, and equality of access. A. Physical accessibility 17. A fundamental aspect of the right to access remedies for economic, social and cultural rights violations is to ensure physical access to such remedies. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has indicated that, as a basic matter, individuals must be able to physically access the means of seeking remedy for economic, social and cultural rights violations.56 United Nations experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation57 and the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights,58 as well as the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee,59 have repeatedly alluded to physical access to justice. Physical accessibility is of particular concern in the case of persons with disabilities that render it more difficult to physically access police stations, courts, State administrative offices and other infrastructure that may be necessary for mobilizing the law.60 It is also important for people living in remote areas, as the distances involved in travelling to the locations of established justice mechanisms can seriously impede their effective access.61 Finally, women migrant workers may also have difficulties with physical accessibility if employers confine them to their work sites and restrict outside communication.62 B. Affordability 18. Beyond physical accessibility, economic barriers often prevent access to remedies. According to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, remedies for violations of these rights must be affordable for all, with “related administrative and legal costs … based on the principle of equity”.63 Similarly, the Committee on Migrant Workers expressed concern that certain migrant workers would be unable to seek redress through means free of legal fees,64 while the Committee on the Rights of the Child has affirmed that States must eliminate economic barriers to access to justice.65 Among United Nations system experts, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has identified economic accessibility as one of the principal barriers limiting access to justice,66 while the 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 CMW/C/PRY/CO/1, 2012, para. 24; CMW/C/BOL/CO/2, 2013, paras. 24–25; CMW/C/GTM/CO/1, 2011, para. 20; CMW/C/SLV/CO/1, 2009, para. 25; CMW/C/SYR/CO/1, 2008, para. 25; CMW/C/EGY/CO/1, 2007, para. 22. CMW/C/CHL/CO/1, 2011, para. 37; CMW/C/ECU/CO/1, 2007, para. 38. CESCR, general comment No. 17 (2005), para. 18 (b) (i) (concerning rights of the author). A/HRC/15/31/Add.1, para. 54. A/HRC/21/39, paras. 67–68; A/67/278, para. 11. A/HRC/22/72, para. 51. CESCR, general comment No. 17 (2005), para. 18 (b) (i) (concerning rights of the author); A/67/278, para. 11. A/67/278, paras. 36–40. CEDAW, general recommendation No. 26 (2008), para. 21. CESCR, general comment No. 17 (2005), para. 18 (b) (ii). CMW/C/SYR/CO/1, 2008, para. 25. CRC, general comment No. 16 (2013), para. 68. A/67/278, paras. 51–56. 9