ACFC/31DOC(2008)001 29. Some of the findings are relevant for most of the State Parties; these include the lack of statistical data on the socio-economic situation of national minorities and the sometimes inadequate response of public service to the needs of persons belonging to national minorities. Others specifically relate to some countries or regions or minority groups, such as difficulties resulting from land privatisation processes, obstacles in pursuing traditional activities by persons belonging to some national minorities. a) Availability of statistical data on the socio-economic situation of persons belonging to national minorities 30. State Parties should regularly collect data and gather up-to-date information on the socio-economic and educational situation of persons belonging to national minorities in order to compare the latter with the situation of the majority population. The availability of reliable data, disaggregated by age, sex and geographical distribution, is an important condition for the development of well-targeted and sustainable measures, which meet the needs of the persons concerned. It is also crucial for the formulation of effective policies and measures to tackle discrimination in areas such as access to employment and housing. Data collected as a result of population census are, in general, insufficient to serve as a sound basis for these policies and measures. 31. The collection of data on the situation of national minorities should be made in accordance with international standards of personal data protection,7 as well as respecting the right for persons belonging to a national minority freely to choose to be treated or not to be treated as such. Wherever possible, representatives of the national minorities concerned should be involved throughout the process of data collection, while the methods of collection of such data should be designed in close co-operation with them. b) Legislation prohibiting discrimination in socio-economic life 32. The Advisory Committee has frequently observed that some national minorities have proportionally higher unemployment rates, sometimes lower employment rates, and a generally lower participation in the labour market than the majority population. They can be faced with direct and indirect discrimination, inequalities in career development and often with structural obstacles (e.g. a ceiling to the level of their promotion within an organisation). 33. The existence of comprehensive legislation prohibiting discrimination on grounds of belonging to a national minority, covering the fields of employment, housing, health care and social protection by public and private actors, is a precondition in any policy aimed at promoting participation of persons belonging to national minorities in various spheres of socio-economic life. 7 See for instance the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS 108) and the Committee of Ministers Recommendation (97) 18 on the protection of personal data collected and processed for statistical purposes. 15