ACFC/31DOC(2008)001 126. State language proficiency requirements placed on public administration personnel should not go beyond what is necessary for the post or service at issue. Requirements, which unduly limit the access of persons belonging to national minorities to employment opportunities in public administration, are not compatible with the standards embedded in the Framework Convention.51 Where necessary, targeted support should be provided to facilitate the learning of the official language for applicants or personnel from national minorities. 127. Comprehensive data and statistics are crucial to evaluate the impact of recruitment, promotion and other related practices on minority participation in public services. They are instrumental to devise adequate legislative and policy measures to address the shortcomings identified. The collection of data on the situation of national minorities should be made in accordance with international standards of personal data protection,52 as well as the right for persons belonging to a national minority freely to choose to be treated or not to be treated as such. Representatives of the national minorities concerned should be involved in the entire process of data collection and the methods of collection of such data should be designed in close co-operation with them. 128. Attention should also be paid to the participation of persons belonging to national minorities in the executive. Effective participation can be advanced by various means such as the introduction of posts assigned for minority representatives in the executive at all levels. Measures excluding persons belonging to national minorities from accessing public posts are potentially discriminatory.53 e) Participation of persons belonging to national minorities through sub-national forms of government 129. Sub-national forms of government can play an important role in creating the necessary conditions for effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in decision-making. This is particularly relevant for regions where persons belonging to national minorities live compactly. 130. In order to ensure that, in practice, decentralisation and devolution processes have a positive effect on the participation of persons belonging to national minorities in public life, it is crucial to clearly define the respective competencies of sub-national and central authorities. Lack of clarity in this respect can reduce the level of participation of persons belonging to national minorities and may also hamper minority access to the public funds needed for their activities. It is also important to provide local authorities with appropriate resources to enable them to carry out their tasks effectively.54 51 See for example 1st Opinion on Azerbaijan adopted on 22 May 2003, paragraph 79. See Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data (ETS 108) and the Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation 97 (18) concerning the protection of personal data collected and processed for statistical purposes. 53 See for example 1st Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted on 27 May 2004, paragraph 98. 54 See also remarks in paragraphs 138 and 139 below. 52 32