right to education, the right to health and an adequate standard of living, which are provisions in the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. It constantly asks that these elements guarantee the right of minorities to an effective participation to the economic life. - The Committee is also involved in the recognition of the full and entire participation in economic life by recommending to State Parties to institute the implementation of article 6, paragraph 2 of the Covenant on the right to work, as prerequisite for the enjoyments of political and economic freedoms. - The Committee also recommends the implementation of the right to entitlement of social security according to article 9 of the Covenant, relying for this on its observation n 19 in which it insists on the strengthening of the effective participation of minorities in economic life and their full enjoyment of all the economic, social, and cultural rights as they ensue from the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights of 1966. - Thanks to its conclusions, its observations, and its recommendations, the Committee on ESCR is one of the most active body for the defense of the rights of minorities. In this regard, it recommends other human rights instances to insist on the protection and the promotion of the rights of minorities, in particular those about the economic and social rights indispensable for a real participation in the economic life of all of the citizens. - States must take positive measures including: legislation providing higher maximum penalties for racial motivation; ethnic monitoring to determine the number of persons belonging to a specific national ethnic group who perform different types of work, the establishment of institutions specialised in the defense of human rights and the appointment of mediators seeking to guarantee ethnic and racial equality. - Within the United Nations system, the responsibility concerning minorities and the promotion of their rights is shared by the Council of Human rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural rights. These bodies play an important role in alerting governments, if need be, to prevent problems and to identify cases where the legal basis for defining and criminalizing all forms of discrimination against minorities is not sufficient. - The Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights recommends decision-making bodies on human rights to ensure a broad protection of minorities in order to meet the challenge of promoting cultural diversity and the values of the various ethnic groups; to combat social, economic, and political exclusion; and to respect the rights of all ethnic groups in terms of development in accordance with the fundamental rights developed in international law. All these measures lead to the protection and promotion of human rights and to the effective participation in public affairs. By participating in all aspects of public life, minorities can both control their own destiny, and contribute to the political evolution of the society as a whole.