Implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and of the twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly A/RES/71/162 18. Recognizes the need to promote respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to address the most pressing social needs of people living in poverty, including through the design and development of appropriate mechanisms to strengthen and consolidate democratic institutions and governance; 19. Stresses the importance of economic, social and cultural rights and the importance of the principles of non-discrimination, inclusivity and meaningful participation for the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development; 20. Reaffirms the commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, as well as to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective into all development efforts, recognizing that they are critical for achieving sust ainable development and for efforts to combat hunger and malnutrition, poverty and disease and to strengthen policies and programmes that improve, ensure and broaden the full participation of women in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life, as equal partners, and to improve their access to all resources needed for the full exercise of all their human rights and fundamental freedoms by removing persistent barriers, including ensuring equal access to full and productive employment and decent work for all, as well as strengthening their economic independence; 21. Encourages Governments to promote effective participation of people in civic, social, economic and political activities, as well as in the planning and implementation of social integration policies and strategies, in order to better achieve the goals of poverty eradication, full employment and decent work and social integration; 22. Reaffirms the commitment to promote opportunities for full, freely chosen and productive employment, including for the most disadvantaged, as well as decent work for all, including respect for fundamental principles and rights at work, also reaffirms that there is an urgent need to create an environment at the national and international levels that is conducive to the attainment of full and productive employment and decent work for all as a foundation for sustainable development, that an environment that supports investment, growth and entrepreneurship is essential to the creation of new job opportuni ties and that human resources development strategies should be premised on national development objectives that ensure a strong link between education, health, training and employment, help to maintain a productive and competitive workforce and are responsive to the needs of the economy, and further reaffirms that opportunities for men and women to obtain productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity are essential to ensuring the eradication of hunger and poverty, the improvement of economic and social well-being for all, the achievement of sustained economic growth and sustainable development of all nations and a fully inclusive and equitable globalization; 23. Stresses the importance of removing obstacles to the realization of the right of peoples to self-determination, in particular of peoples living under colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation, which adversely affect their social and economic development, including their exclusion from labour markets; 7/14