While effective participation as an underlying principle of integration has to be mainstreamed in each relevant policy area89, participation also requires its own dedicated policy and specific instruments90. a. Participation in public affairs 39. States should adopt specific, targeted policies to ensure that everyone has adequate opportunities to effectively participate in democratic decision-making. As part of this, States should strive for adequate representation of the diverse groups in their society, including minorities, in all relevant structures of public administration and decision-making bodies. Adequate representation ensures direct participation and is also important as a means to provide a genuine opportunity for minority voices to be heard. In order to be adequate, the representation need not be mathematically proportional, but should aim to reflect the composition of society.91 Care should be taken to ensure that numerically small groups also have opportunities to effectively participate. At the same time, States should strive to uphold gender-equality principles in facilitating representation and public participation of persons belonging to minorities. Based on international standards and promising practices, as well as on the experience of the HCNM, targeted policies might include one or more of the following: − Special arrangements for the representation and participation of minorities in elected assemblies and/or in the executive as well as in branches of government and the wider public sector at the national, regional and local levels. Such special arrangements may include, depending upon the circumstances: reserved seats in one or both chambers of parliament or in parliamentary committees and other forms of guaranteed participation in the legislative process, facilitated minority representation in the electoral system, affirmative action for the allocation of cabinet posts, seats on the supreme or constitutional court or in lower courts, and/or positions on nominated advisory 89 90 91 Guideline 9. Useful guidance regarding the instruments that can and, where appropriate, should be made available to establish an effective participation policy can be found, inter alia, in the Commentary on Participation and the Lund Recommendations. Commentary on Participation, paragraph 123. 46 Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies