A/HRC/10/11 page 7 13. She concluded that more must be done in all regions to focus the development process sharply on the needs of minorities. In the report, she strongly encouraged States and international development actors “to share with her further information on positive practices undertaken to develop strong policies and technical cooperation initiatives on poverty reduction in communities of historically marginalized minority populations”. 14. Pursuing her work in the area of poverty alleviation and realization of MDGs for minorities, the independent expert co-convened with UNDP in 2006 the consultation “UNDP’s Engagement with Minorities in Development Processes”. The co-conveners were the Democratic Governance Group of the Bureau for Development Policy (DGG/BDP) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The Consultation was to take stock of key issues, challenges, and gaps with regard to UNDP engagement with minorities in relevant practice areas and identify entry points that would help UNDP to better address issues related to minorities in development.2 Following were the key conclusions and recommendations: (a) Empirical research should be carried out to generate enhanced understanding of minorities, followed by capacity development support for UNDP staff and relevant partners; (b) There is a lack of knowledge of the United Nations mechanisms related to minority issues, including the mandate of the independent expert, and of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities; (c) There is need to undertake specific programmatic activities focusing on minority communities, grounded by clear policy and practical guidance for the staff of country offices, and to review ongoing projects and programmes with an intention to redefine target groups, and develop strategies for promoting non-discrimination, participation and transparency; (d) As a longer term objective, a UNDP Guidance Note on Minorities in Development3 would be useful, whilst a Resource Guide on Minorities in Development should be elaborated, as a medium-term objective. 2 Experiences of UNDP Nepal, Romania, Guatemala, Ecuador, Kenya, Regional Indigenous Peoples’ Programme in the Asia Pacific, as well as the Regional Roma Initiatives in the CIS/CA regions were shared and further analysed. 3 A study commissioned by UNDP to suggest ways for more effective UNDP engagement with national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, concluded, inter alia, that the existing policy/practice notes, such as the Policy of Engagement with Indigenous Peoples (2001), UNDP and Civil Society Organizations: A Policy of Engagement (2001), Poverty Reduction and Human Rights (2003) and Human Rights in UNDP (2005), were not sufficient to address the particular concerns of the minorities and that enhanced attention to minority issues should be an essential component to promote inclusive development processes. The study recommended that developing a UNDP Policy Note on Minorities would be an important tool for country offices to start and/or to strengthen their work with minorities.