A/HRC/7/15 page 10 this definition were to be recast as a combination of income poverty, human development poverty and social exclusion. On the contrary, it would enormously improve the relevance of the “lack of basic security” in defining extreme poverty. 39. Similarly, capability poverty, which has now been broadly accepted in human development literature, can also be regarded as the simultaneous deprivation of income, human development and social exclusion. In fact, Amartya Sen’s definition of capability “as freedom to lead a life one has reasons to choose” is clearly multidimensional and combines income and human development as components of capability, both as constituent and instrumental variables, with social exclusion adding the relational dimension of poverty. 40. Extreme poverty, as a combination of income poverty, human development poverty and social exclusion, is not just a question of severity and intensity of poverty; it is a concept that considers poverty a denial of human rights, thus mobilizing public action towards the adoption of public policies by Government. C. Added value of a human rights framework 41. There is a significant added value to invoking a human rights framework in policies to eradicate poverty. It adds the appeal that basic human rights are usually recognized as highly valuable objectives that all individuals are inherently entitled to. This has two implications. First, if poverty is considered a violation of human rights, it could mobilize public action, which itself could contribute significantly to the adoption of appropriate policies, especially by Governments in democracies. It is basically the obligations that are entailed by human rights, the deprivation of which is recognized as poverty that changes the nature of the discourse of economic development, making poverty-removal a principal objective. Second, human rights obligations are binding, and the authorities must be able to demonstrate that they have made their best efforts to fulfil those rights by adopting appropriate policies that have the greatest likelihood of achieving those results. 42. The independent expert summed it up in his second report when he stated that, when concentrating on extreme poverty, it should be possible to invoke the associated obligations more generally, with the duty-bearers finding it difficult or improper to reject the appeals to the related obligation. 43. As a first step, it is often easiest to call for the fulfilment of the human rights that have been recognized through international human rights law or national domestic legislation. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has accorded this legal recognition to the right to food, health, education, social security and an adequate standard of living. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has recognized the right to association, information, freedom of expression and so on. If, in a social arrangement, these rights are fulfilled, it is difficult to imagine that there will be any poverty in that society.