A/HRC/25/56 39. In September 2013, Amnesty International called for human rights-based approaches and attention to minorities in the post-2015 development agenda. It stated that world leaders risk deepening inequalities, discrimination and injustice if human rights remain sidelined. “The poorest, most disadvantaged and marginalized groups are being let down” said its Secretary General, Salil Shetty: “There is a widening gap between rich and poor and between men and women and those from minority groups.” The MDGs and the post-2015 agenda must directly address factors causing inequality and must address and dismantle the multiple and systemic barriers which marginalize the most vulnerable.9 40. Since 2012, a consultation process has been taking place internationally to put in place a new global development plan when the MDGs conclude in 2015. Important processes have been under way, including the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, and the intergovernmental Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, connected to the Rio+20 process. The General Assembly met in September 2013 to review progress, begin discussion of the recommendations and start work on a new framework to follow the MDGs. Emerging from this process is a strong call for attention to the most marginalized and disadvantaged groups. 41. The Rio+20 outcome document10 highlights the fact that green economy policies in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should “enhance the welfare of indigenous peoples and their communities, other local and traditional communities, and ethnic minorities, recognizing and supporting their identity, culture and interests and avoid endangering their cultural heritage, practices and traditional knowledge” (para. 58). It also stresses the need to ensure equal access to education for ethnic minorities and for an enabling environment for women and girls from ethnic minorities (paras. 229 and 238). The High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons, in its report, states: “We should ensure that no person — regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status — is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities. We should design goals that focus on reaching excluded groups”.11 42. The Secretary-General established the United Nations System Task Team on the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda in September 2011, which brings together experts from over 50 United Nations entities and international organizations to support the post-2015 consultation process. In its report, Addressing inequalities: The heart of the post2015 agenda and the future we want for all, it states that: “the era of the MDGs may have inadvertently seen some channeling of resources away from the poorest population groups or from those that are already at a disadvantage because of the effects of discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity, disability or residence … Redressing such discrimination and inequalities will be essential, if global opportunities for progress are to be shared by those most in need of its benefits.”12 9 10 11 12 “UN Millennium Development Goals: Human rights must not be marginalized in post-2015 agenda”, 23 September 2013. Available from www.uncsd2012.org/content/documents/727The%20Future%20We%20Want%2019.pdf. United Nations, A New Global Partnership : Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development – The Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (New York, 2013), executive summary. Available from www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/Think%20Pieces/10_inequalities.pdf. 11