- - it is seen as positive if special parliamentary committees dealing with minorityrelated issues are set up in parliaments and if minority languages are used in these committees; language proficiency requirements imposed on candidates of local and parliamentary elections are not conducive to effective participation; appropriate attention should be paid to the inclusiveness and representativeness of consultative bodies, including the participation of numerically smaller minorities. Mr Francisco Campbell, Member of the Central American Parliament, gave a presentation on “Minority Participation: challenges and opportunities in Central America” in which he underlined that, while the multi-cultural and multi-ethnic nature of the Central American society has not been institutionalized and that although a few people have been able to get through to political power in Nicaragua and Guatemala, a lot still needs to be done to tackle poverty, inequalities, the exclusion of indigenous and afrodescendants and other major social and economical problems in the region. He further emphasized the need to bridge the gap between rhetoric and reality, and for reforms of electoral laws, laws on citizenship as well as the inclusion of minorities into national development plans and strengthening of regional integration. Mr Azhagan Chenganna from the Communication Studies Unit of the University of Mauritius presented “The Role and Responsibilities of the Media in enhancing the political participation of Minorities”. He noted that the model of coexistence between communities in Mauritius is contested by the feelings of marginalization and everyday grievances of some of its minorities. Problems of social exclusion and prejudice as well as of gender discrimination and inequality regularly surface up to remind the authorities of their obligations and the need to take steps towards social justice and building an inclusive and conflict-free society. He indicated that the conditions for minority political participation from the perspective of the media include: the media to play a constructive role as agents of change, reaffirmation of the link between freedom of expression, access to information and citizen’s empowerment, media democratization and the need for independent media as well as the need to encourage minority political parties to harness the full potential of digital media and social networks, and equitable access of minority political parties to public media. Discussion The Chairperson opened the floor for discussion 8 . During the discussion under Item IV, participants identified the following conditions required for effective political participation of minorities and raised the following issues: 8 The list of speakers, and when 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 10