A/HRC/FMI/2010/2 C. Minorities and the Millennium Development Goals 20. Studies, including by the independent expert on minority issues, have demonstrated that minorities are frequently failing to benefit from national strategies to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which do not take into account their unique situations and the impact of discrimination. The realization of the right of minorities to effective participation in economic life is central to the achievement of the MDGs. In developing programmes aimed at achieving the MDGs, all stakeholders must therefore face the additional challenge of ensuring that those programmes take minority issues into account and are developed and implemented in close collaboration with members of minority groups. The norms and values embedded in the United Nations Millennium Declaration and international human rights instruments form a key foundation in this endeavour, in particular, the key human rights principles of non-discrimination, meaningful participation and accountability. In adopting the Millennium Declaration, heads of State and Government have recognized their “collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level” (para. 2) and resolved to strengthen their capacity “to implement the principles and practices of democracy and respect for human rights, including minority rights” (para. 25). D. Poverty reduction and development strategies 21. Minority groups in all regions of the world commonly experience higher than average and disproportionate levels of poverty. Poverty is part and parcel of the cycle of marginalization, social exclusion and discrimination affecting minority populations and a cause, manifestation and consequence of a wide range of economic, social and cultural rights violations. The poorest communities in almost any region tend to be minority communities that have been targets of long-standing discrimination, violence or exclusion. Equally, poor communities are generally less able to participate effectively in political decision-making or to access mechanisms of justice when their rights are violated. Greater effort is needed to ensure that minorities who are living in extreme poverty benefit fairly from national and international obligations to reduce poverty. A key component of such efforts is to ensure the economic rights of minority communities, including their effective participation in their realization. E. Positive measures/affirmative action4 22. As stipulated in several legal instruments, affirmative measures – time-bound, monitored and specifically designed to address systematic, historic and institutionalized discrimination – are often required to address historic inequality and enable minorities to participate effectively in economic life. The use of special measures is a fundamental component of the realization of the right to equality. The first step preceding such positive measures must however be a review of current systems and immediate cessation of any discriminatory selection criteria. Such measures may then include training and recruitment initiatives or quotas in public or private sector employment to promote access to labour markets for minorities. 4 6 See Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 32, para. 15, referring as examples to para. 19 of Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 25, and para. 12 of the recommendations of the Forum on Minority Issues on the right to education (A/HRC/10/11/Add.1).