Discussion The Chairperson opened the floor for discussion 6 . During the discussion under Item III, participants identified the following obstacles to the political participation of minorities and raised the following issues: ƒ The question of citizenship and the issue of statelessness/arbitrary deprivation of citizenship ƒ The situation of minority children and the fact that children are traditionally excluded from decision-making ƒ Ban on political parties that are directly or indirectly minority oriented ƒ The establishment of electoral districts, the ‘gerrymandering’ of electoral boundaries to the detriment of minorities or increasing the voting power of the majority ƒ Linguistic, religious or ethnic requirements, literacy requirements or education thresholds and other requirements limiting the right to vote or to run for office ƒ Onerous registration procedures ƒ The question of Muslim minorities and communities living in non-Muslim countries ƒ Unequal access to education and school segregation ƒ Social exclusion, stigmatization and discrimination ƒ The impact of extreme poverty ƒ Access to justice ƒ The problem of insecurity and conflict situations and the use of different electoral mechanisms in divided societies ƒ Language, size and territorial concentration of a group, organizational density, their overall sense of belonging, potential internal divisions, unfamiliarity with the country’s political culture and level of interest in political life ƒ Lack of information on political matters, availability of information and campaign material in minority languages, targeted communications ƒ The situation of persons deprived of their freedom ƒ The impact of the Constitution and relevant legislation as well as of the electoral laws and systems ƒ Examples of affirmative measures to secure the participation of minorities in public life ƒ The importance of the recognition of minorities and respect for diversity in societies ƒ Obstacles to the right to freedom of expression and access to information and to media freedom ƒ Obstacles to the right to freedom of assembly and to the right to freedom of religion 6 The list of speakers, and where available the full text of their presentations, can be found on the Forum’s website at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/minority/oral_statements_forum_minority_2009.htm 8