A/HRC/20/4 Commissioner’s pledge made at the 2010 Millennium Development Goals review summit, OHCHR remains committed to providing technical assistance and support to Member States, upon their request, in integrating human rights into national development policies and strategies, including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and shaping the post-2015 development agenda. 54. OHCHR will work to further strengthen partnerships with United Nations agencies to raise awareness and build the capacities of all United Nations staff members on human rights issues connected with their work. Developing and providing a more effective support strategy for Resident Coordinators and United Nations country teams, in the challenging context of global financial, food, energy, climate and other crises, will be a priority for the Office, as well as interagency efforts under the United Nations Development Group and other coordination mechanisms. 55. The present report has reviewed some of the challenges that States continue to face in relation to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, as well as OHCHR’s response to these challenges. It is clear that much remains to be done in combating discrimination, in strengthening the legal protection of economic, social and cultural rights and in mainstreaming human rights into national policy-making. Moreover, particular legal issues have arisen around long-standing human rights questions such as land and human rights and HIV and the law, and the challenge is the need to conscientiously apply a human rights-based approach to the resolution of such issues. 56. States should take effective steps to address inequality in access to and enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, taking into account, as noted by the Special Rapporteur on education, so that sound policies are rendered more effective when supported by a commitment to equality. It is clear that discrimination in access to essential services, such as health care and education, remains widespread and that entrenched discrimination and marginalization breed a sense of grievance that, in turn, sows instability and conflict. 57. States should adopt robust measures to address poverty, encompassing, as necessary, targeted measures to protect the most vulnerable members of society, and should integrate human rights into national development policies and poverty reduction strategies. In this respect, States are urged to ensure that the effects of and responses to the ongoing global financial and economic crises do not exacerbate or reinforce the historical marginalization of economic, social and cultural rights, particularly the right to an adequate standard of living and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. 58. States should ensure that rights which have tended to be neglected, such as the human rights of older persons and the right to take part in cultural life, receive the attention required to ensure their full exercise on an equal basis. In this regard, States should make provision for their meaningful and consistent integration into Government policy and human rights programming at all levels. 59. States should strengthen the legal protection of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to remedies in case of violations. OHCHR encourages the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which requires a few more ratifications to enter into force. Likewise, the ratification of the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child will also expand the protection of the economic, social and cultural rights of children. 15