A/HRC/10/65 page 5 III. SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS 16. The section below contains a summary of the presentations and statements made during the interactive debate that followed the presentations.1 A. Poverty and human rights Normative framework for human rights and extreme poverty 17. The independent expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona, recalled that previous sessions of the Social Forum had confirmed that human rights and poverty were linked in three ways: (a) poverty can be both a cause and consequence of human rights violations; (b) the realization of all human rights and efforts to eliminate extreme poverty are mutually reinforcing; and (c) human rights norms and principles provide the framework for poverty reduction and/or eradication. She also emphasized that the elimination of poverty is not a question of charity but an important and pressing human rights issue. Poverty is often linked to the denial or violation of human rights enshrined in the major human rights treaties, which, together with regional instruments, establish the normative framework for addressing the reduction of poverty from a human rights perspective. She further stressed that any initiative to address the situation of those living in poverty must be guided by the principles of equality and non-discrimination, participation, transparency and accountability. 18. The independent expert also referred to the important role of the Social Forum as a sounding board for emerging concerns around the world. Commenting on her expectations on the outcome of the Social Forum, she observed that it was ideally placed to identify best practices in poverty reduction and to promote the incorporation of a human rights approach into policies aimed at poverty reduction and elimination. She stated that the Forum should continue to focus on existing discrimination, as both a cause and a consequence of poverty, and that it should promote the participation of those living in poverty, particularly women. She concluded that the current session of the Forum should also build on the work of the previous sessions and continue promoting the draft guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights: the rights of the poor, which were prepared in 2006 by the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. 19. The Deputy Chairperson and member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Ariranga Pillay, focused his presentation on the work of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with regard to poverty and human rights. He recalled that the Committee had provided a definition of poverty and stated that the international human rights normative framework was essential for sustainable reduction of poverty. He underlined the essential characteristics of a rights-based approach to poverty reduction, such as rights and obligations, accountability, equality, non-discrimination and participation. With regard to accountability, he made special reference to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as a justiciability tool for these rights. 1 The full version of presentations is posted as received on the OHCHR website at the address www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/poverty/speakers_presentations.htm.