and address children's multiple vulnerabilities. I should underline that Social protection is not THE answer to address children's vulnerability, but it can help. What do we mean by social protection? UNICEF's working definition is: "the set of public policies and programmes aimed at reducing the economic and social vulnerability of children, women and families in order to ensure their access to a decent standard of living and essential services". Persons of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities are at risk of being marginalized in a social services environment that is demand driven unless special features are integrated into programme design. Therefore UNICEF'S approach to social protection is to focus on improving access. This is particularly important for minorities who can face additional social and economic barriers to service use. Particular attention needs to be given to overcoming multiple barriers. I would like to underline that social protection is not only about reducing economic vulnerabilities, but also social vulnerabilities, such as discrimination, which can be particularly important in the case of minorities. In simple terms, it is not enough to build schools or train doctors and nurses. What needs to take front stage is ensuring that individuals have access to these services, including the knowledge that the services exist, and the means to claim them. These means would include for example transportation, legal institutions, and non-discriminatory environment. This is particularly relevant not only for children whose access to social protection often depends on another person, but also for minorities. Social protection can provide an avenue for strengthening interventions and guarantees in education, health, nutrition and protection from violence, abuse and neglect. Challenges continue though: we need to develop appropriate instruments to ensure that services reach the intended population and the interventions are sustainable. We also need to recognize and protect traditional forms of social protection, especially extended family structures, which have traditionally constituted a buffer against different shocks. In many regions however we have witnessed a decline in these traditional forms of social protection due to urbanization, migration and poverty. I would like now to refer to two case studies, one on minorities in Vietnam and another one on Roma in Hungary.