A/72/219 Brazil in September 2015. 4 A number of States and national human rights institutions reported in their submissions on specific measures taken with regard to people of African descent, including Honduras, Colombia and Mexico. 5 III. Selected key areas of actions A. Empowerment and participation 10. In order for the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities to have an impact, it is crucial that rights holders know how to claim their rights and have the skills and capacity to use the relevant procedures and mechanisms. This is the ultimate aim of the annual Minorities Fellowship Programme of OHCHR, which, in 2016, trained 11 fellows from different regions. For more than 10 years, the programme has provided persons belonging to minorities with in-depth knowledge of the United Nations human rights machinery and strengthened their advocacy skills to better use international human rights standards and mechanisms. An evaluation of the fellowship confirmed its impact, indicating that, following their training, many fellows had organized a range of capacity-building workshops on minority rights and enhanced their engagement with treaty bodies and special procedures, including through follow -up on their findings. A former fellow from Colombia, for ex ample, organized training for over 300 minority youth leaders on United Nations instruments and mechanisms specific to minorities. OHCHR also organized various capacity-building training sessions on minority rights at the national level, including in Myanm ar, the Philippines and the Republic of Moldova, and instituted distinct fellowships for people of African descent and indigenous peoples. 11. Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Declaration states that persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life. There are various ways in which such participation can be facilitated, including through consultative bodies and dedicated focal points in relevant government entities. In order to encourage such initiatives, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia conducted a study in 2015 on good practices to improve minority participation in political life, particularly civil service, consultative and elected bodies, and is supporting the authorities in Kyrgyzstan with a view to building on those examples of good practice. 6 Minority women often face particular obstacles in decision-making processes and other contexts. With this in mind, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empow erment of Women (UN-Women) has worked to empower minority women, including by developing advocacy and media relations capacity among minorities in Kazakhstan and facilitating the participation of excluded women in human rights consultations in Nepal. 7 12. Several Member States also reported on their efforts to enhance the inclusion of minorities in decision-making. Germany highlighted the role of its Secretariat for Minorities, which represents the interests of national minorities vis -à-vis the Federal Government and legislative bodies. 8 Serbia reported on the role of its National Council for National Minorities, comprising competent State authorities and __________________ 4 5 6 7 8 4/12 A/HRC/31/56/Add.1. Submissions by Colombia, Honduras and the National Human Rights Commission of Mexico. See A/HRC/34/21 and Corr.1, para. 16. Submission by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women). Submission by Germany. 17-12826