|
Building the capacity of governments and other partners to integrate minorities into development programme will reduce exclusion. It may be challenging for partners to understand the important national benefits that will flow from such inclusion, particularly where discrimination against minorities is deeply entrenched and the balance of power could be upset. The benefits of minority inclusion could be highlighted (see, for example, Chapter 1) and used to encourage government buy-in. A multi-stakeholder dialogue with minority CSOs and national councils for non-discrimination or minorities could inform as to the capacity building needs and form.
Capacity building needs will be country specific. Government capacity vis-à-vis some minority groups (e.g. indigenous peoples) may be stronger than towards others. Inter-communal relations and minority CSOs capacity for advocacy are important considerations. Table 6 offers some key suggestions for building capacity at the individual, organizational and enabling environment levels. Consideration of how to build capacity on minority issues can be mainstreamed into all capacity assessments. Some guiding questions include:
Institutional arrangements
- Is non-discrimination routinely monitored in all institutional procedures?
- Are there any statutory institutions with responsibility to oversee non-discrimination issues and/or minority protection issues?
- Are all minorities proportionately represented in public service staff?
- Are there measures in place to improve, support and maintain the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of employed staff?
Leadership
- Are minority CSOs able to operate and to form networks freely?
- Does the government have any cooperation agreements with minority CSOs?
- Are high-level actors knowledgeable about, accessible and accountable to minorities?
Knowledge
- Are public sector staff aware of the situation of minorities in relation to their operational responsibilities?
- Do public sector staff have access to training on non-discrimination and minority protection? Are they able to apply non-discrimination practices in their daily work?
- Are minorities able to easily access information on government activities affecting them?
Accountability
- Are there any monitoring and evaluation systems to assess the impact of government policies and programmes on minorities?
- Are minorities able to access mechanisms of complaint regarding government practices that affect them?
- Do minority actors participate in all civil society initiatives established by government?
- Are non-discrimination laws fully and equally implemented for minorities?
| Table 6. Capacity Building for Governments for Minorities in Development |
| Levels of Capacity |
Types of
Capacity |
Capacity Building on
Minorities in Development |
| INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY |
Experience
Knowledge
Skills |
- Training for government staff on non-discrimination and minority rights
- Information about measures to prevent discrimination, e.g. employment tribunals
- Access to data on the status of minorities
- Information about existing minority CSOs and areas of expertise
- Encourage employment ‘diversity’ associations of minority staff and other underrepresented groups
- Creating opportunities for dialogue between government actors and minorities
- Building capacity of minority CSO leaders to work with government officials (e.g. through briefings on policy proposals)
|
| ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY |
Internal Policies
Procedures
Frameworks |
- Establishment of national councils on non-discrimination and/or minorities and similar institutions at the local level
- Data collection reforms to produce and analyze adequate disaggregated data
- Integration of consideration of minorities into all national development plans and policies
- Systematic monitoring of impact of policies and programmes on minorities
- Adoption of non-discrimination policies for all public and private sector employment
- Establishment of competencies on minority issues in all public institutions (e.g. through designated staff or divisions)
- Building institutional cooperation with minority CSOs and networks
|
| ENABLING ENVIRONMENT |
Policies
Legislation
Power relations
Social norms |
- Legislative reform protecting the rights of minorities to express culture, language and religion
- Strong mechanisms to implement non-discrimination legislation
- Public education campaigns on non-discrimination
- Ensuring freedom of association for minorities in law and practice
- Support to media outlets aimed at minorities
- Review of budget allocations to ensure non-discrimination against minorities
- Minority support to parliamentarian networking
- Integration of minority issues into all UN Treaty Body reports, the Universal Periodic Review mechanism and country visits of UN Special Rapporteurs
|
|
