A/HRC/22/27 those that exist between United Nations international and regional mechanisms. In both respects, good practices were shared and the potential for increased cooperation to strengthen protection was explored. 16. While there was a general sentiment that religious minorities deserve increased attention by human rights mechanisms, participants shared a range of examples from United Nations and regional mechanisms of important case law, recommendations and other work that has addressed this issue. They considered that while the discussions were beneficial to the participants, a more systematic approach would be advantageous, and they encouraged knowledge-management initiatives to facilitate the sharing of information and insights. The participants agreed that more action was required to encourage increased implementation of the Declaration, including by harnessing the momentum offered by the twentieth anniversary. 3. Regional consultation on the role of the United Nations and other human rights and development actors in advancing the participation of minorities in poverty reduction and development strategies in South-East Asia 17. Held in Bangkok on 25 and 26 September, the consultation brought together representatives of various United Nations entities, including the OHCHR Regional Office for South-East Asia, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women). Among the participants were representatives from national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations, including the Asian Human Rights Commission, Minority Rights Group International, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. 18. Participants examined some of the reasons why in many cases Millennium Development Goals were not being reached. They found, inter alia, that persistent inequalities across the board and obstacles to meaningful participation stood as primary obstacles, often involving development policies and programmes that were disempowering. 19. Participants also examined how systematic discrimination of persons belonging to minorities and other marginalized groups in access to ownership and control of land could result in their exclusion from decision-making at all levels in development issues, which in turn could fuel land grabbing, and how that problem affected minority women in particular. Participants explored possible solutions, including various mechanisms to enhance minority participation in decision-making and programmes that improved institutional capacity and facilitated access to legal identity and ownership documents. 20. Participants recalled that promoting human rights was one of the pillars of a governance strategy to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals were met and that human rights mechanisms, such as the Independent Expert on minority issues and the Forum on Minority Issues, could contribute to ensuring that the Goals were pursued with due regard to the specific challenges faced by minorities. The consultation highlighted that the Goals were to be pursued in an equitable and sustainable manner benefiting minority communities, which could involve conducting studies devoted to interrelations between work to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and work to address concerns of minorities. 6