Guidance Note of the Secretary-General on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities • 13
analysis of development, and their inclusion can ensure ownership and
help find sustainable and effective solutions to development challenges.
37. Moreover, efforts to improve sustainable human development and promote
inclusion and stability are complemented and strengthened with better attention to the situation of minorities and with the participation of minorities in such efforts. Therefore, their inclusion in all aspects of country
engagement is crucial.11 There is a need to bring in minority voices and
representation in the design and implementation, as well as monitoring
and evaluation, of UN development efforts, including in the United Nations
Development Action Framework (UNDAF) and country programming processes. Similarly, participation of persons belonging to minorities is essential in the process of developing the post-2015 development agenda, with
a view to ensuring that the resulting agenda advances non-discrimination
and other human rights concerns of minorities.
38. Addressing development challenges requires holistic and sustained approaches that fully recognize human rights, including minority rights. Addressing discrimination, in particular, can make development strategies
more effective. There is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to minority issues.
Each country presents a unique set of historical and contemporary power
dynamics that create different conditions and opportunities for addressing
the marginalization of minorities. In this respect, the UN system should
pursue and support mapping and analysis exercises to determine: the situation of each marginalized minority group; the impact on minorities of marginalization and exclusion; the root causes of inequality and exclusion; the
differences in women’s and men’s experiences and the existence and nature of civil society organizations that articulate the concerns of minorities.
5. Access to a healthy and clean environment
39. Minorities are often denied access to a healthy and clean environment and
suffer disproportionally from environmental risks and hazards, as well as
occupational health and safety hazard, in the workplace. In many cases
they live in the most polluted areas of cities, or near dangerous or illegal
waste facilities with limited or no access to sanitation, clean air, clean water and land. In the labour market, minorities are often overrepresented
in hazardous jobs or economic sectors. The accelerated urban migration
and the increased urbanization process have increased such challenges.
Minorities are often denied adequate access to environmental information
and are frequently excluded from participation in making environmental
decisions that affect them. Whenever addressing issues related to the environment and sustainable development, the UN should pay special attention to the consequences affecting minorities and their well-being and
ensure that they have sufficient access to related services. There have to
be extra efforts to provide access to relevant information also for minorities
11
For detailed guidance on how to integrate minority issues in development programming, refer to Marginalised Minorities in Development Programming: A UNDP Resource Guide and
Toolkit (May 2010).