Respect for freedom of expression and free media
Mainstreamed political parties should offer greater opportunities to minorities
Minority rights should be enshrined in the Constitution
Importance for minorities to have access to adequate resources
Item VII —Concrete steps to advance minority political participation and to
build capacity of minorities to participate effectively
Issues for presentation and discussion focused on the draft recommendations that
participants had before them. The objective was to formulate practical, concrete policies,
actions or programmes that would generate a higher level of minority political
participation at national, regional and local levels.
Mr Alcee Hastings, Member of the U.S. Congress and Co-Chairman of the United States
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) gave a
presentation on the “Black European Summit: Transatlantic Dialogue on Political
Participation” that took place on 15 and 16 April 2009 at the European Parliament,
bringing together a small group of political and intellectual minority leaders from more
than ten countries to exchange information on barriers to political participation and the
roles of minority policymakers in representing minority interests, including promoting
equal rights in the United States and Europe. Lessons learned included that:
- the majority of political and legal systems do not accurately reflect the diversity
of societies;
- minorities have often not been sufficiently included in the development and/or
implementation of government policies;
- there continues to be a lack of political will from government, political parties and
other actors to include them.
The meeting indentified solutions such as advertising employment opportunities in
minority communities, requiring that a percentage of persons interviewed for a position
are minorities and providing minority fellowships and internships for teenagers and
college students in Parliament, government agencies, and other organizations. The need
for increased support for minorities currently in political careers was deemed essential.
This initial Summit will become an annual event to continue the dialogue on the
following issues:
- Political education for minority communities
- The development of physical and electronic support networks for minority elected
officials
- Youth and community outreach
- Opportunities for self-organization and other empowerment initiatives.
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