A/HRC/16/29 discrimination has reached alarming levels. The Committee has adopted early warning measures and urgent procedures to prevent as well as to respond more effectively to violations of the Convention. 33. Early warning measures can include confidence-building measures to strengthen and reinforce racial tolerance, particularly to prevent a resumption of conflict where it has previously occurred. The urgent procedures are designed to respond to problems requiring immediate attention to prevent or limit the scale or number of serious violations of the Convention. The early warning measures could be taken when the following indicators are present (CERD, A/62/18, 2007): (a) Presence of a significant and persistent pattern of racial discrimination, as evidenced in social and economic indicators; (b) Presence of a pattern of escalating racial hatred and violence, or racist propaganda or appeals to racial intolerance by persons, groups or organizations, notably by elected or other State officials; (c) Adoption of new discriminatory legislation; (d) Segregation policies or de facto exclusion of members of a group from political, economic, social and cultural life; (e) Lack of an adequate legislative framework defining and criminalizing all forms of racial discrimination or lack of effective mechanisms, including lack of recourse procedures; (f) Policies or practice of impunity regarding: violence targeting members of a group identified on the basis of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin by State officials or private actors; grave statements by political leaders/prominent people that condone or justify violence against a group identified on the ground of race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin; development and organization of militia groups and/or extreme political groups based on a racist platform; (g) Significant flows of refugees or displaced persons, especially when those concerned belong to specific ethnic groups; (h) Encroachment on the traditional lands of indigenous peoples or forced removal of these peoples from their lands, in particular for the purpose of exploitation of natural resources; (i) Polluting or hazardous activities that reflect a pattern of racial discrimination with substantial harm to specific groups. These indicators are a relevant tool to identify and prevent human rights violations against persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. X. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Country Engagement Strategies on Minorities (2009) 34. The information note “Towards Developing Country Engagement Strategies on Minorities” was prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to encourage staff of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and colleagues in other United Nations organizations and specialized agencies to be more aware of the issues minorities face and the rights to which they are entitled. The objective of the Note, which is in the process of being updated, is to assist United Nations colleagues working at the country level in strengthening programmes benefiting minorities. The Note is structured as a series of questions and answers that aim to provide practitioners with basic information about United Nations definitions, standards and mechanisms related to minorities (Part II) and ideas and practical checklists for developing country engagement strategies on minority issues (Part III). 35. Part I is an introduction that outlines the purpose of the Note and some of the challenges minorities face in the enjoyment of their rights. Part II starts with issues of definition of minorities, pointing out that there is no internationally agreed definition as to what constitutes a minority. The difficulty in arriving at an acceptable definition lies in the variety of situations in which minorities live. Some live together in well-defined areas, separated from the dominant part of the population, while others are scattered throughout the country. Some minorities have a strong sense of collective identity or a wellremembered or recorded history; others retain only a fragmented notion of their common 9