A/HRC/7/16 page 29 (b) Consider the relationship between the right to land and congruent human rights and their implementation, in particular in regard to adequate housing and the right to food and work as a means to combat poverty, discrimination, violence, evictions and displacement; (c) Consider holding an expert seminar to develop strategies for the legal recognition of land as a human right, including the protection of individual and collective land rights of indigenous peoples, peasants, the landless and other groups that are dependent on and derive their identity and livelihood from land and land-based resources; (d) Request States to give priority to agrarian and land reform in rural areas and to improving equal access to land and wealth in both urban and rural areas. Rural areas 105. As the Special Rapporteur has pointed out since the inception of the mandate, there is a growing neglect of the human rights of rural populations and the development of rural areas. It is therefore imperative that: (a) States collaborate with international and regional development agencies, donors and civil society to develop integrated rural development strategies, with policies and programmes that have the aim of sustaining rural livelihoods, with a focus on rural employment generation and local infrastructure development; (b) States and international organizations take steps to ensure that rural development, including of remote areas and in cooperation with local communities, is integrated with national housing policy and strategy, and that improvement in housing and living conditions (including water and sanitation) is linked with employment and education opportunities. Natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies 106. In regard to natural disasters, humanitarian emergencies and post-disaster reconstruction, the Special Rapporteur: (a) Recommends that the Council consider promoting disaster preparedness and relief and rehabilitation as essential to the enjoyment of human rights; (b) Urges that international human rights standards and principles be incorporated into all relief and rehabilitation efforts, including those of the international community, international financial institutions and non-governmental organizations, in order to facilitate the speedy transition from temporary shelter to permanent housing for those affected; (c) Urges States to ensure implementation of the rights to information and participation and to seek the prior informed consent of victims or beneficiaries in all stages of relief and rehabilitation, including the provision of shelters and permanent housing;