This is an invitation to you to contribute to a consultation that Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona, the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Right is doing. The topic is ‘THE HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH TO PARTICIPATION OF PERSONS LIVING IN POVERTY IN DECISIONS THAT AFFECT THEIR LIVES’. The deadline for submission of your contribution is December 14, 2012. The report of the consultation will be presented to the Human Rights Council in June 2013.

Questions to guide your thinking or animate groups:

What are the obstacles that people living in poverty face to their meaningful and effective participation?

Have you any ideas about how to increase the participation of people living in poverty? What would be key principles to facilitate participation?

Are you working with groups of girls, children, women or communities that are living in poverty? Why not hold discussion groups around meaningful participation – obstacles to participation and how participation can be achieved? Write up the results of the discussion. Have you an already existing good practice facilitating people living in poverty to participate in decision making in your programs? Do you empower people living in poverty to approach local/regional or national government to represent their own issues? Does your government invite people living in poverty to the decision-making table?

The text is only in English but it suggest that you use http://translate.google.com/  for an unofficial translation of this message into another language.

Please submit contributions in French, Spanish or English to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights through srextremepoverty@ohchr.org  at your earliest convenience and no later than 14th December 2012 Please submit a copy to the GSIJP Office to winifreddohertyrgs@gmail.com

If you need any help please contact me.

Visit the website to learn more:   http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Poverty/Pages/ParticipationOfPersonsLivingInPoverty.aspx