UNITED NATIONS • Forum on Minority Issues
engaged in a meaningful participatory process in all aspects of the implementation of
the recommendations.
12. Strategies for the inclusion of minorities in economic life should take into
account the diversity of situation, identity and interests of minority groups. Different
minority groups within a given country can have varying degrees of economic
participation and diverse goals for economic inclusion, differentiated further by
factors such as age and gender. In some minority groups, mainstream economic
activities may be considered incompatible with or harmful to their livelihoods, cultural
life and the exercise of their rights. Governments and other actors should be
respectful of alternative forms of economic life and different development priorities
expressed by minority groups, recognizing that such accommodation is integral to
the protection of minority rights and the development of society as a whole.
13. Particular attention should be given to multiple and intersecting forms of
discrimination against minorities, including on the basis of sex, age, disability,
sexual orientation and gender identity. Intersectional discrimination deepens and
complicates the impact of the denial of access to jobs, housing and other economic
rights, making it more difficult to identify sustainable solutions. Minority women in
rural or remote areas in some countries must cope with a profound isolation created
by boundaries of the home, lack of education and language barriers. Their workload
is made heavier by the lack of basic amenities such as clean water and sanitation,
cheap and clean cooking fuels, the availability of child-care support, and protection
against domestic and societal violence. Entrenched gender roles leave women highly
vulnerable, particularly with regard to ownership of land or property, inheritance
rights and access to credit, technology or markets.
14. Increasingly informal labour markets, a result of globalization, have brought
more women into paid work, but often with low pay and under poor working
conditions. This renders the conditions under which minority women - and all too
often young girls - earn incomes difficult, harmful or even dangerous.
15. The right of minorities to participate effectively in economic life must be taken
fully into account by Governments in all policy initiatives. From implementing
non-discrimination in employment and enforcing protection laws in the private sector
to developing national economic development and international development
assistance schemes, Governments face the constant challenge of ensuring that the
rights of minorities are protected and that they benefit as equal members of society.
Development agencies, financial institutions and other actors involved in
international cooperation share this challenge and should ensure that minority rights
are protected fully in their response to the current global financial and employment
crisis.
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Compilation of Recommendations of the First Four Sessions 2008 to 2011