A/HRC/16/46
economic life. Representatives of minority communities, including women, and traditional
leadership institutions should be engaged in a meaningful participatory process in all
aspects of the implementation of the recommendations.
12.
Strategies for the inclusion of minorities in economic life should take into account
the diversity of situation, identity and interests of minority groups. Different minority
groups within a given country can have varying degrees of economic participation and
diverse goals for economic inclusion, differentiated further by factors such as age and
gender. In some minority groups, mainstream economic activities may be considered
incompatible with or harmful to their livelihoods, cultural life and the exercise of their
rights. Governments and other actors should be respectful of alternative forms of economic
life and different development priorities expressed by minority groups, recognizing that
such accommodation is integral to the protection of minority rights and the development of
society as a whole.
13.
Particular attention should be given to multiple and intersecting forms of
discrimination against minorities, including on the basis of sex, age, disability, sexual
orientation and gender identity. Intersectional discrimination deepens and complicates the
impact of the denial of access to jobs, housing and other economic rights, making it more
difficult to identify sustainable solutions. Minority women in rural or remote areas in some
countries must cope with a profound isolation created by boundaries of the home, lack of
education and language barriers. Their workload is made heavier by the lack of basic
amenities such as clean water and sanitation, cheap and clean cooking fuels, the availability
of child-care support, and protection against domestic and societal violence. Entrenched
gender roles leave women highly vulnerable, particularly with regard to ownership of land
or property, inheritance rights and access to credit, technology or markets.
14.
Increasingly informal labour markets, a result of globalization, have brought more
women into paid work, but often with low pay and under poor working conditions. This
renders the conditions under which minority women - and all too often young girls - earn
incomes difficult, harmful or even dangerous.
15.
The right of minorities to participate effectively in economic life must be taken fully
into account by Governments in all policy initiatives. From implementing nondiscrimination in employment and enforcing protection laws in the private sector to
developing national economic development and international development assistance
schemes, Governments face the constant challenge of ensuring that the rights of minorities
are protected and that they benefit as equal members of society. Development agencies,
financial institutions and other actors involved in international cooperation share this
challenge and should ensure that minority rights are protected fully in their response to the
current global financial and employment crisis.
III. Recommendations
A.
Governments
16.
Governments should eliminate de jure and de facto discrimination affecting
participation in economic life for minorities. Measures must be taken to eliminate
discrimination against minorities in both the public and private sectors, including in
the key fields of employment and labour rights, financial services, education and
training, productivity-enhancing technologies, social security, land tenure and
property rights. Governments should recognize and address multiple and intersecting
forms of discrimination against minorities, including on the basis of sex, age, sexual
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