(2) Colonial Legacies in Legal and Institutional Frameworks: The global study, which I mentioned earlier, also finds that all but a handful of the countries in the list of countries at risk are postcolonial states. The problem largely remains in three key elements of ethno-nationalist politics in postcolonial states: the modernist response to primordial attachments in the process of nation-building, the active role and passive consequences of colonialism, and the influence of bourgeois and petty bourgeois classes. To mitigate the problem of ethno-nationalism in general and minorities in particular, the postcolonial state itself then operates as an ideology, claiming that the unified homogeneous national state, its liberal constitutional structure, and the developmental agenda will solve the minority problem. As ideologies, the national, liberal, and developmental visions of the postcolonial state inflict various forms of marginalisation on minorities but simultaneously justify the oppression in the name of national unity, liberal principles of equality and nondiscrimination, and economic development. International law, as a core element of the ideology of the postcolonial state, contributes to the marginalisation of minorities. It does so by playing a key role in the ideological making of the postcolonial ‘national’, ‘liberal’, and ‘developmental’ states in relation to: continuation of colonial boundaries in postcolonial states, internal organisation of ethnic relations within the liberal-individualist framework of human rights, and the economic vision of the postcolonial state in the form of ‘development’ that subjugates minority interests. Thus, my second recommendation is: when it comes to legal and institutional frameworks for minority protection, the unique position and conditions of postcolonial states and minorities therein must be acknowledged. I therefore welcome the regional approaches taken by the Minority Forum, and encourage the Special Rapporteur to explore possibilities of sub-regional studies given the diversity and complexity in each region. (3) Capitalist exploitation: Minorities are routinely the foremost victims of development activities, as various atrocities against minorities are justified in the name of economic growth and development. Gross violations of human rights and the destruction of life and nature take place in the name of market liberalisation, privatisation of lands, increased connectivity with regional and global markets, and the promotion of foreign direct investment. 2