Item IV—Conditions required for effective political participation 7 Issues for presentation and discussion under this agenda item focused on the human rights and freedoms that are critical enablers of broad political participation and democratic societies, in particular, the right to non-discrimination; freedom of expression; freedom of the press and minority access to the media; equality with respect to economic and social rights; freedom of assembly and association; freedom to engage in political activity individually or through political parties or other organizations; freedom to debate public affairs and to hold peaceful public meetings; participatory and transparent law-making processes. The OSCE High Commissioner for National Minorities (HCNM), Ambassador Knut Vollebaek, underlined that the essence of participation, of democracy, is involvement, both in terms of opportunities to make a substantive contribution to decision-making processes and in terms of the impact of those contributions. He stated that the more inclusive a system is, the more representative it is and that the closer the decision-making is brought to those affected by them, the better the policies and laws. The HCNM also stressed that, given the complexity of the problems faced by minorities, special arrangements are often needed to ensure that the voices of minorities are heard and their interests considered. In 1999, the office of the HCNM invited recognized international experts to draw up a set of thematic guidelines, The Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life, aimed at facilitating the inclusion of minorities within the State, while enabling them to maintain their identity. Rather than pointing to one single model, the Lund Recommendations are offering different choices and models regarding all relevant aspects of political participation of minorities. The HCNM concluded with a few examples of programmes and projects implemented by his office that were aiming at the promotion of integration of minority groups into the wider society, including the setting up of two local TV stations to daily broadcast local news in minority language and the translation of campaign materials into minority languages. The Secretary of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Ms. Eva Konecna, gave a presentation on “Examples of monitoring exercises that have led to the adoption of the Commentary on the Framework Convention on the effective participation of national minorities in public life”, noting that the Advisory Committee had devoted its second thematic commentary issued in 2008 to minority effective participation, drawing on its country-by-country monitoring. In its analysis, the Advisory Committee considered the actual minority representation in various mechanisms and their level of influence on the decision-making process, noting that whatever mechanism is chosen, minorities should be given real opportunities to influence decision-making and the outcome should adequately reflect their needs. The Advisory Committee considers that: - the setting-up of reserved or shared seat systems in parliament do not automatically provide for effective minority participation; 7 The full text of the presentations is available on the Forum’s website: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/minority/oral_statements_forum_minority_2009.htm 9