A/HRC/40/57 of vulnerability from such policies. As women, children and persons with disabilities are generally underrepresented in both the political and economic spheres, special efforts must be made to ensure their capacity to co-decide the measures by using innovative methods of participation. Civil society organizations and actors in the broadest sense should also have adequate and timely channels for participation. 19.2 Different levels of government should also be adequately informed and consulted, and corresponding channels of communication and information should be followed, including within the legislative branches and administrative mechanisms in place for interaction among different levels of local and subnational governments. 19.3 Genuine participation can only be possible if Governments provide timely, comprehensive and accessible information on all aspects of public finance, including budgets and macroeconomic performance. Governments should also provide adequate justifications of policy choices to the population in general, and specifically to those most likely to be affected by the reform. 19.4 Several human rights should be protected in order to ensure effective and meaningful participation, including freedom of expression and access to information, freedom of the press, the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association. 19.5 Economic reform policy measures should be adopted by the competent bodies following the procedures established by domestic law. They should be scrutinized and discussed by parliament to allow for effective political participation and necessary checks and balances. 19.6 Where labour market reforms are being contemplated, particular efforts should be made to consult, as early as possible, with local and national trade unions and employers’ associations using, where they exist, national mechanisms for social dialogue. As any labour reform must include efforts to overcome horizontal and vertical gender segregation, women’s representatives should also be part of this social dialogue. 19.7 Public debate and oversight over policies should start at the earliest possible moment and apply not only to policies and initiatives carried out by the State, but also to agreements with supranational institutions and/or lenders. Conditionality packages attached to financial assistance programmes should be subjected to ample discussion, ensuring the participation of the population, and oversight and discussion by parliament. Principle 20 – Access to information and transparency In order to guarantee the right to freely impart, seek and receive information in a transparent manner, a human rights impact assessment of economic reforms requires a diverse range of both quantitative and qualitative data. States should endeavour to ensure that such information is available, accessible and delivered in a timely and transparent manner, and that its analysis assists in understanding the implications and impacts of the economic reform policies. Commentary 20.1 Global and regional human rights standards guarantee not only the right to freely impart information but also the right to freely seek and receive it as part of the freedom of expression. 20.2 Obstacles to access to information can undermine the enjoyment of both civil and political rights, in addition to economic, social and cultural rights. Core requirements for democratic governance, such as transparency, the accountability of public authorities or the promotion of participatory decision-making processes, are unattainable in practice without adequate access to information. 20