A/HRC/4/9 page 23 minorities. The UNDP, EU, Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD), Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), World Bank, Asian Development Bank and IDB have all taken specific steps - typically the articulation of policy statements or guidelines, or targeted cooperation projects - on indigenous peoples.36 Indigenous peoples can use these as a basis both to engage in dialogue with these agencies and to hold them accountable to established standards or objectives. Minorities are sometimes mentioned in lists of “vulnerable groups”, but rarely are the circumstances of their vulnerability analysed or responded to with separate measures. 97. UNDP is one agency taking the lead on working with minorities. In 2006 UNDP has collaborated closely with the Independent Expert regarding its future work on minority issues and the elaboration of a policy note/guidance note on minorities. This would complement the existing UNDP Policy of Engagement with Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2001. A budget line for work on minority issues has been included in the new Global Human Rights Strengthening Programme of UNDP, which calls for collaboration with the Independent Expert. 98. The IDB adopted an Action Plan for Combating Social Exclusion Due to Race or Ethnic Background in May 2001, with the long-term goal to integrate fully and consider race and ethnicity in IDB operations, programming and policies. The next phase seeks to build its institutional framework to address social exclusion and will focus on building the capacity and role of country offices through training, hiring practices, outreach, and project development. The IDB is reaching out to other agencies, through the Inter-Agency Consultation of Race and Poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean37 and has convened workshops on issues including how to create economic development opportunities for Afro-descendants. 99. Among bilateral development agencies, SDC supported a three-year backstopping mandate with Minority Rights Group International to build the capacity of staff and support the organization as a whole to include minorities in development cooperation more effectively. Several training workshops on various aspects of working with minorities were held and country-specific policy support offered. 100. Private sector businesses must contribute fully to confronting poverty and enabling minorities to access employment. Where businesses make a serious commitment to equal opportunities policies, the diversity and strength of their workforce will grow and the benefits to communities are significant. Governments should be proactive in extending non-discrimination legislation and affirmative action policies to the private sector and robustly enforcing such policies. Multinational corporations should act in conformity with international human rights law and demonstrate leadership in regions in which they work. 36 For further details see Minority Rights Group International, An Examination of Approaches by International Development Agencies to Minority Issues in Development, (E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.5/2004/WP.5). 37 This group included the Inter-American Dialogue, the World Bank, PAHO, OAS/Inter-American Human Rights Commission, UNDP, the Ford Foundation, among others.