Gay McDougall Opening Remarks The Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities is clear that persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life. It states that ensuring that persons belonging to minorities are “an integral part of the development of society as a whole” is essential to harmonious relations among a society’s various components. Additionally, the Declaration highlights that States should consider appropriate measures so that persons belonging to minorities may participate fully in the economic progress and development in their country. Our challenge over the coming two days is to provide concrete recommendations to assist States and other actors to fulfill the requirements of the Declaration. As has been stated in the background materials for this Forum and the draft recommendations that are before you all, disadvantaged minorities in all regions of the world face discrimination and exclusion from equal participation in economic life. In the course of my work as Independent Expert, I have seen first hand the effects of economic exclusion on minority communities and seen the damage caused to the lives of individuals who face discrimination, for example, when they seek employment. Many may face barriers in accessing credit or loans to begin small businesses, to break the cycle of poverty that traps them. Others may live in the poorest or most remote regions of their country, areas that offer limited prospects for economic development. During my country visits, I have encountered all too often the impact on minority communities of large–scale economic development projects or commercial activities that may be carried out on the traditional lands and territories of minority communities, but without prior consultation with or the consent of those communities. In some countries where minority communities have traditionally owned resource-rich territories, there have been broad-scale thefts of ownership rights and land-grabs, leading to massive displacements, a deepening cycle of poverty, environmental degradation, and in some cases, violence against minority communities. In some countries, problems exist in the unequal regional distribution of resources and services and a lack of basic infrastructure in regions where minorities live. These often 4|Page