10 INTRODUCTION Questions activists might ask of the state • • • • �� Where is the detailed plan of action that you are obligated to adopt in order to ensure the progressive implementation of the rights to food, health, education, housing, water, employment and culture? What concrete steps have been taken to ensure the minimum essential levels of each right are met, including for the most marginalized segments of society? What measures have been undertaken to ensure that services are culturally appropriate,28 that public resources are distributed in a non-discriminatory manner, and that particular attention has been paid to ensure that specific programmes – devised with the participation of minorities and indigenous peoples – are in line with the aim of preserving their identities? Have social safety nets been put in place to protect members of society from times of economic shock and recession, including those most vulnerable in times of national economic hardship? 29 Has the impact of the debt burden and of fiscal adjustment measures been assessed for its differential impact on the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights of all people in a country? 30 Advocates should note that the burden of proof is on the state to demonstrate that it is making measurable progress towards the full realization of the rights.31 assistance where required;32 whether or not the state can demonstrate that all resources – including those available from the international community through international assistance and cooperation33 – have been used as a matter of priority to meet the minimum obligations;34 and what the state has done to ensure the enjoyment of the rights, despite possible insufficient resources.35 The Committee on the Rights of the Child reminds us that in order for states to demonstrate that they have implemented the ESC rights found in the Convention to the ‘maximum extent of their available resources’, they are to show that they have sought international cooperation, where necessary, in order to undertake all possible measures towards the realization of the rights of the child, paying special attention to the most disadvantaged groups.36 Obligations under the ICESCR are also to be taken into account in all aspects of a state party’s negotiations with international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ensure that ESC rights – particularly of the most vulnerable – are not undermined by policies imposed by these institutions.37 Obligations of international assistance and cooperation require state parties that are members of