A/HRC/14/33 Agreements and flexibilities on national patent laws of developing and least-developed countries. In his annual report presented to the General Assembly in August 2009, the Special Rapporteur discussed the human rights basis for informed consent in clinical practice, public health and medical research and outlined its importance for respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right to health. During the reporting period, he undertook country missions to Poland and to Australia. 25. The Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Raquel Rolnik, undertook missions to Maldives and to the United States of America. In March 2009, she presented her annual report to the Human Rights Council on the consequences of the housing and financial crisis in the realization of the right to adequate housing. She also presented a report on the follow-up to country recommendations for Afghanistan, Mexico, Peru and Romania and a preliminary note on her mission to Maldives. In October 2009, she presented her annual report to the General Assembly on the impacts of climate change in the fulfilment of the right to adequate housing. 26. The Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Vernor Muñoz, presented his annual thematic report to the Human Rights Council, which focused on the right to education of persons in detention. The report calls for sustained efforts to respect, protect and fulfil that right. It underscores that prisoners face significant and complex educational challenges, due to a range of environmental, social, organizational and individual factors. In his report to the General Assembly, he discussed the issue of lifelong learning and human rights underlining their mutual interdependence. He undertook missions to Paraguay and Mongolia. 27. In his annual report to the Human Rights Council, presented in September 2009, the Special Rapporteur on the adverse effects of the movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, Okechukwu Ibeanu, focused on the adverse effects of ship-breaking activities on the enjoyment of human rights. The report notes that every year a great number of workers die or are seriously injured because of work-related accidents or occupational diseases related to long-term exposure to hazardous materials present on end-of-life ships. Workers do not usually receive any information or safety training and live in facilities which often lack basic requirements such as sanitation, electricity and drinking water. There is a general lack of medical facilities and social protection, and injured workers or their relatives hardly receive any compensation for accidents resulting in fatal injuries or permanent disabilities. During 2009, he undertook a country visit to the Kyrgyz Republic, where he examined the potential adverse effects that the unsound management of radioactive wastes and obsolete or banned pesticides may have on human health and the environment. 28. The independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepulveda, is currently developing an in-depth analysis of public policies aimed at eliminating extreme poverty with a view to identifying best practices and disseminating important lessons learned. In 2009, her reports focused on cash transfer schemes and the importance of social protection in the context of the global financial crisis. The report to the Human Rights Council recognized that cash transfer schemes are a tool to fulfil obligations under human rights law relating, in particular, to the right to social security and the right to an adequate standard of living. Nonetheless, it underlines that these schemes must be integrated within social protection systems and grounded in human rights standards and principles. The report to the General Assembly describes the need to establish solid social protection systems in the context of the global financial crisis. In 2009, she visited Bangladesh and Zambia, paying particular attention to social assistance schemes in both countries. GE.10-12597 7