The participation of minorities in governance processes is often very weak at all levels, especially for minority women. This is because minorities lack political representation in government or are under represented within the public service. Minorities might be poorly represented in other institutions like trade unions or the academic sphere. This exclusion may be due to several factors, including discrimination, poverty, low institutional trust, lack of capacity, language barriers, weak access to media outlets or public information, or living in remote areas.

Electoral reform:

Changes in an electoral system can significantly improve the representation and participation of minorities. At the simplest level, voter education and registration initiatives could be made more accessible to minorities. This may entail measures like producing materials in minority languages, hiring minorities to help with voter registration or providing transportation for minorities to enable them to vote securely or if they live remotely. These initiatives could take account of literacy rates of men and women among minority communities and make accommodations if necessary.

At a more complex level, governments could undertake reforms in the electoral system to help increase minority participation. Any reform must be context specific – there is no one-size-fits-all answer in creating a stable and inclusive electoral system. Factors such as historical and current inter-communal relations, population size of minority groups, geographic dispersion or concentration of minority groups, voting preferences of minorities and the existence of minority-specific political parties can have an impact.

Discrimination against minorities can inhibit electoral participation. Institutional trust can be very low where groups have experienced sustained exclusion and weak access to justice, prompting a de facto disenfranchisement. Where fluency in an official language is a precondition to running for election, this may discriminate against linguistic minorities. Citizenship may also be a requirement for electoral participation. Although such a requirement is not, a priori, a violation of international law, the criteria for gaining citizenship might discriminate against minorities.

Finally, it is important to recall that minorities have the right to form associations and to maintain contacts across borders. This right extends to the formation of political parities.

Decentralization:

Decentralization of power can greatly improve minority participation, especially if they are territorially concentrated. Most policies concerning minorities are implemented at the local level, even if it is central governments that make the initial commitment to protect minority rights.

Decentralization can take several forms. In circumstances where minorities are territorially concentrated and have expressed a desire for autonomy, the creation of autonomous regions of governance may be highly effective in increasing minority participation. Where appropriate, the recognition of autonomy could also take the form of transferring some authority to existing traditional forms of community governance. Forms of cultural autonomy are also commonly endorsed. For example, in Ukraine, the Law on Local Government grants local authorities specific rights in facilitating national cultural traditions and in providing broad possibilities for education in the mother tongue of local people. In post-conflict situations, power-sharing agreements may also be effective. In all cases the processes do need to be monitored closely to ensure the best outcome for equal representation of minorities and of marginalised groups within minority communities. As with other areas, good practices on decentralization mechanisms and institutions that increase minority participation could be shared with governments.

	IMPLEMENTING GOOD GOVERNANCE IN MULTI-ETHNIC COMMUNITIES: EXPERIENCE FROM SOUTHEAST EUROPE The Ethno-cultural Diversity Resource Centre organized a regional conference in 2006 on “Good Governance in Multi-Ethnic Communities” to share best practice from Southeast Europe and identify common standards and principles. The findings set out some key recommendations for good governance in multi-ethnic communities: Give minorities a role in decision-making at the local level; Do not limit their participation to consultation; If small minority groups are underrepresented, then appropriate mechanisms to improve representation should be developed; Ensure genuine representation of all groups in the local representative bodies; Empower people; Do not limit your approach to minority rights; Raise awareness of the existing diversity in the community; Promote cross-group alliances in order to support each local ethno-cultural community’s interests; Monitor the impact of the existing legislation through appropriate indicators; Ensure participation of the beneficiaries in all stages of implementation of the legislation; Ensure resources at the local level as well, in order to implement the national legislation and to respond to the community’s needs. Source: Good Governance in Multi-Ethnic Communities: Conditions, Instruments, Best Practices, Ways to Achieve and Measure Good Governance at the Local Level, Ethno-cultural Diversity Resource Centre and King Baudouin Foundation, 2007: p. 54.

Decentralization could entail the creation of specific institutions at the local level to address minority issues. In Serbia, for example, municipalities with one national minority that accounts for more than 5% of the municipal population, or all national minorities collectively account for more than 10% of the municipal population, form a Council for Inter-Ethnic Relations. These Municipal Councils for Interethnic Relations are established according to Article 36 of the Law on Local Self Government to deal with the realization, protection, and improvement of ethnic equality in local communities.²⁸

Where decentralization processes seem unlikely, governments could establish communication mechanisms with minority groups, to enable transparent dialogue on issues of mutual concern.

Building local government capacity:

Local government service delivery could be improved by increased attention to minority protection and development. It is important to empower local government officials to implement policies regarding minorities. This requires open dialogue about their concerns regarding minority issues, including with minority actors; sensitization to minorities’ concerns; and awareness-raising on minority rights standards and their application to policy. Institutions at the local level to monitor and advise on minority issues can be an important support to local  government.

National Minority Councils:

Some governments have established national councils on minorities. These bodies aim to be representative and consultative institutions, usually with responsibility to liaise with governments on minority policy issues and make recommendations in this regard.

The Government of Serbia has created a Council of National Minorities that coordinates the work of the 15 National Councils of National Minorities (i.e. the Hungarian, Ruthenian, Romanian, Wlachian, Croatian, Slovak, Bunjevci, Greek, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Romani, Bosniac, Macedonian, Jewish and German Councils). The National Councils of National Minorities have competencies in four areas of national minority rights: culture, education, information and the official use of language and the alphabet. Line ministries have the duty to consult with the Council anytime they are preparing policies or regulations in these areas. The Council of National Minorities has representatives of each minority council who are elected by their constituencies for a term of four years. The Council is part of the Serbian Agency for Human and Minority Rights, chaired by the Prime Minister. In 2001, the Government of Peru created the National Commission of Andean, Amazon and Afroperuvian Peoples (CONAPAA), subsequently re-established in April 2005 as the National Institute for the Development of Andean, Amazonian and Afro-Peruvian Peoples (INDEPA), a body with ministerial status. Afro-Peruvians have two representatives on the body (there are four for the Andean and three for the Amazonian indigenous peoples). The body was established under a World Bank loan designated for indigenous peoples and Afro-Peruvians. In Europe, a regional-level European Roma and Travellers Forum has been created to provide a similar function vis-à-vis European institutions, in particular, the Council of Europe.

The effectiveness of these councils rests, inter alia, on their authority, accountability, budget and leadership. Efforts can be made to facilitate dialogue with minorities in alternative fora as well, especially at the level of local government or through other traditional decision-making structures, in order to enable pluralism of minority participation.

Parliamentary support:

Minority parliamentarians could play an important role in proposing legislative reforms that would help minorities to realize their rights and to have a stronger voice in governance. Minorities could face significant barriers in getting elected. However, this usually stems from discrimination within political parties and from lack of resources to run for office. Depending on local environment, support could be offered to parliamentarians that wish to form caucuses on minority related concerns or regional networks to unite minority parliamentarians. In the United States, for example, the Congressional Black Caucus has been active since 1971 in supporting legislation that would help meet the needs of African Americans. In Latin America, a Black Parliament of the Americas is being forged as a regional network of Afro-descendant parliamentarians. The NGO Minority Rights Group International has been supporting a network of pastoralist parliamentarians in Eastern and the Horn of Africa.

	UNDP is working with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on a three-year project (2008-2010), Promoting Inclusive Parliaments: the representation of minorities and indigenous peoples in parliament. The project aims to assist parliaments to become more inclusive of the social diversity of the population and to increase knowledge and capacity to advocate for this goal. Among the outputs of the project will be baseline data on representation of minorities and indigenous peoples in parliaments globally.

Public service reform:

The public service bears much responsibility for implementing minority rights but may not have the capacity. Activities in public service reform could: advise on how to increase the employment of minorities as public servants; train public servants on non-discrimination; provide complaints mechanisms accessible to all; and ensure that public services are equally accessible to minorities, including in the regions in which they live and in the languages that they speak. These efforts will help minorities to not only benefit more from public services like health and education, it will also enable minorities to become deliverers of these services, making governance more participatory and increasing trust in institutions.

Media:

Equal access to the media is an important element of political participation. Minorities have the right to freedom of expression in their own language and pertaining to their own culture. Efforts to assist independent media and public service broadcasting could include targeted programmes for the development of media outlets servicing minority groups, including allocation of subsidies, broadcasting frequencies and capacity building. Governments could adopt measures to combat hate speech in the media, including anti-hate speech legislation, monitoring and self-regulation mechanisms by media outlets.

	Using media to promote social inclusion in Albania: UNDP Albania’s Public Information Office has created a project that works to improve the awareness and attitude of the general public about disadvantaged minority groups by supporting several activities that promote a sense of multiculturalism within the country. The media provides a platform for minorities to share their culture and express their rights and values while creating a common understanding with the rest of the population. It also helps to overcome stereotypes and discriminatory practices. Activities to be implemented include celebrations for International Roma Day, International Volunteer Day, the annual human rights film festival or other events that can sensitize the majority population. In addition, each issue that is covered by the project (such as registration, child protection, health, and vocational training) has an advocacy activity associated with it. Source: UNDP Albania.