Minority rights can be integrated into various UNDP programmes. The strategy used will vary with the national context. This may depend upon the openness and capacity of governments, inter-communal relations, legal recognition of minorities, the demographics of minorities, the presence and capacities of minority CSOs, and UNDP staff commitment and capacity.

In all situations, there is a responsibility to ensure that UNDP interventions do not violate minority rights. Even where government relations with minority groups may be strained, care could be taken not to directly or indirectly discriminate against minorities. Even in difficult circumstances, entry points may be found for assisting the government and minority groups to realize human rights and secure better development for all.

5.1 COMMON COUNTRY ASSESSMENT AND UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK (CCA/UNDAF):

Integrating attention to minorities in the CCA and UNDAF can have a positive impact on achieving UNDP’s goals for sustainable human development for all. The Guidelines for UN Country Teams on Preparing a CCA and UNDAF (Updated February 2009) underline the importance of attention to excluded groups, including minorities, indigenous peoples and migrants, and the application of a human rights-based approach in the CCA/UNDAF.

Four steps to integrate minority rights into the CCA/UNDAF:

1. Include minority CSOs in CCA/UNDAF consultations: there is great scope for UNCTs to encourage minority CSOs to participate equally in these processes. In some cases, this could be facilitated by specific training to minority CSOs so they are in a stronger position to contribute policy advice. By holding meetings outside of capital cities, conducting information and outreach to minority communities, providing language translation and building in longer time frames for consultation, increased minority participation can be achieved.

2. Collect disaggregated baseline data to inform the CCA drafting: there is often a lack of attention to minority issues in existing data and analysis. The CCA/UNDAF Guidelines require that, “Particular attention should be paid to disaggregation of data [including by sex, language, religion and ethnicity] and to any research that reflects the situation and views of people who suffer from discrimination” (2009, paragraph 45). Even where government-led analytical work is preferred over drafting a CCA, the Guidelines still urge the following:

• Identify hidden trends in the data on excluded groups.
• Identify disparities that suggest unequal treatment and the possibility of discrimination.
• Help partners to conduct more detailed causality analysis, to identify the root causes that contribute to multiple problems. (2009, paragraph 36)
  

3. Systematically review the UNDAF to ensure that minority related issues raised by the CCA are addressed with programme interventions: in some cases, minorities are mentioned in the CCA but this fails to translate into responses under the UNDAF. The situation of minorities that is systematically analyzed in the CCA can be responded to with relevant interventions elaborated in the UNDAF.

4. Adopt disaggregated monitoring tools and targets for the UNDAF: the monitoring and evaluation framework and the results matrix of the UNDAF both can reflect specific indicators, baselines and targets for minority groups. It is not sufficient to list generalized indicators and results. According to the Guidelines:

Where there are clear indicators and targets for minority groups, this will reinforce confidence in national development processes and provide them with additional leverage to hold governments to account for minority rights obligations. Using a human rights-based approach, these indicators and targets should be linked to minority rights.

The Guidelines instruct that any CCA should “Identify patterns of discrimination and inequality, and describe the situation of groups excluded and made vulnerable due to the denial of their rights” (2009, paragraph 30). This could be achieved by verifying:

• Is data sufficiently disaggregated (e.g. by gender, ethnicity, region, religion and language, as well as disability, HIV/AIDS and other status) to identify excluded groups?
• What are the priorities?
• Are the root causes identified?
• Does the analysis describe patterns of discrimination and the different ways that females and males experience these problems? (2009, Annex 2)

Many of these objectives were achieved by UNCT Nepal. Emphasizing the importance of addressing inequality and exclusion in Nepal, the CCA 2006 recommended that UN support to Nepal mainstream “the overcoming of gender inequality and social exclusion” across all priority areas of cooperation. Accordingly, the UNDAF for 2008-2010 took a two-pronged strategy to mainstream gender and social inclusion (GSI): integrating GSI issues in all its priority areas and keeping Human Rights, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion as a separate priority area as well to ensure that the UN supports programmes specifically targeted to women and socially excluded groups.

Drawing from the UNDAF for 2008-2010, UNDP’s Country Programme Document (CPD) for the same three-year period focuses on peace and inclusive development. Bearing in mind the gender policy and the Government of Nepal’s emphasis on social inclusion, the CPD mainstreamed gender and social inclusion in the overall programme. The emphasis is on reaching out to women and other excluded groups so that they are socially and politically empowered and their access to resources and basic services will be significantly increased for better livelihoods. In addition, reform in policy and governance issues is also stressed in order to remove institutional barriers for women and excluded groups to benefit from development opportunities and peace dividends.

The UNCT Nepal involved the CSOs in the UNDAF development process through consultation with organizations representing various ethnic groups as well as women’s groups (consultations with civil society stakeholders were not possible during the preparation of the CCA because of the security situation in Nepal at that time). The fourth pillar of Nepal’s UNDAF is on Human Rights, Gender Equality, and Social Inclusion. The working group that prepared this pillar held consultations with various CSOs to share the preliminary draft of the outcomes and outputs matrix and sought their feedback. Civil society representatives also actively participated in the UNDAF workshop that defined the four focus areas. Civil society organizations that are already in partnership with UNDP were invited to the various cluster-based consultations (e.g. livelihoods, local governance and access to justice, disaster risk reduction) while developing the results and resources framework for the CPAP.

In Brazil, the 2005 CCA includes a chapter on “Racial and Ethnic Discrimination: Reducing Exclusion and Vulnerability”, outlining the government’s weak responses to the effects of racism and discrimination. This contributed to the elaboration of UNDAF outcomes. It was clear that the key UNDAF outcome of ensuring that vulnerable persons enjoy the right to basic services would not be achieved without giving particular attention to issues of discrimination. In response, the UNDAF adopts a specific outcome aimed at reducing gender and racial/ethnic inequalities (see Box 13). A UNCT Theme Group on ‘Gender and Race’ was created and “will play a key role in monitoring the progress of outputs and activities under each related outcome and their annual reviews will also feed into the M&E process” (UNCT Brazil 2005, p. 14).

Attention to minorities issues can be reflected in both the CCA and UNDAF Theme groups on minorities can be established Specific indicators for minorities can be adopted Disaggregated data can inform the CCA/UNDAF and its monitoring

The UNCT Ecuador has established an Interagency Working Group on Intercultural Issues in 2005. The Group prepared matrices to assist in the drafting of the UNDAF taking into account intercultural issues, particularily as they affect Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants. In addition to the matrix example below in Box 14, the note also reviewed the relevant international and domestic standards applicable for Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples in the context of the UNDAF (e.g. provisions of the 2001 Durban Declaration and Programme of Action; provisions of the new Constitution of Ecuador pertaining to Afro-descendants, indigenous peoples and multiculturalism).

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