A/HRC/7/35 page 5 all the relevant stakeholders, including the private sector; the importance of institutionalizing the plan by designating a lead agency and establishing appropriate coordination mechanisms; the value of decentralized approaches such as regional or State-level committees; the leadership role that could be played by national institutions in both formulation and implementation; the link to treaty reporting processes; and the importance of budget processes that could adequately ensure sustainability in the implementation of the NAPs. 7. Several member States made presentations on their human rights education strategies or action plans, as well as the institutions and laws established for such programmes. Emphasis was placed not only on human rights education in schools but also on target groups such as parliamentarians, judges, lawyers and law enforcement personnel. Linkages were drawn with broader empowerment strategies, such as legal awareness programmes, which can contribute to broader poverty reduction and social mobilization efforts. Emphasis was placed on the rights-based approach to education that calls for greater participation, for instance of indigenous communities, in the design of education programmes, as well as the importance of applied training that goes beyond principles and encourages behavioural change. 8. Participants reflected on their experiences with national human rights institutions and the wide range of activities being undertaken by such mechanisms in the region. Experiences covered a variety of issues such as the organization of national inquiries, dialogues, round tables and summits to highlight priority issues. Examples were given of strong collaboration between groups of national human rights institutions on common challenges, as well as capacity-building activities being undertaken by some institutions. It was noted by national institutions that effective working relations with other departments of government were of great importance. 9. In the discussion on the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights, themes emphasized were the importance of linking national human rights action plans with poverty reduction and national development strategies, and the value added of rights-based approaches in framing development assistance programmes. Participants noted the importance of addressing issues of equity in their national development strategies to acknowledge disparity between different areas and groups, emphasizing gender equality, anti-discrimination measures and the importance of empowerment of women active in economic and political life. The protection of cultural rights, the environment, and the rights of non-citizens, migrant workers and refugees and internally displaced persons were highlighted by some participants, in addition to the importance of combating corruption. II. THEMATIC DISCUSSIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND EXTREME POVERTY 10. Presentations and discussion on the second day of the meeting focused on the theme of Human Rights and Extreme Poverty, a topic identified through consultation with member States as a common priority for the region. The two expert resource persons selected to speak on the topic, Mr. Siddiq Osmani and Mr. Rajeev Malhotra, gave comprehensive and enlightening presentations as a starting point for discussion. The first presentation covered the human rights-based approach to poverty reduction and how it could be integrated into poverty reduction strategies and policymaking. The premise of the presentation was that poverty constitutes a