Recommendations To national governments · Formulate, implement and oversee economic policies and development plans in non-discriminatory ways with special attention to the rights of minorities. The use of participatory human rights impact assessments —with data disaggregated by social, language and ethnic group— is essential to ensuring economic stimulus packages and other economic policies do no harm and, moreover, have positive impacts across society. · Primary commodity-dependent countries should see the current commodity price crisis as an opportunity to move away from the export-led model. Furthermore, these countries should increase their domestic demand by focusing on their domestic and/or regional markets, especially the food and consumer goods segments where small scale producers, frequently members of minorities, are concentrated. · Governments—domestically and in concert with others—have obligations to adopt policy and legal measures to protect minorities against abuse and fraud by preventing banking and other financial sector entities (such as hedge funds, private equity funds, derivative instruments and credit rating agencies) from actions which risk interfering with the realization of their rights. Governments in this regard must strengthen accountability and the rule of law by, for example, reigning in criminal behavior. Where certain acts are not qualified as crimes (i.e. "tax evasion" in certain countries) or as an offense that triggers legal liability, then appropriate legislation should be brought to bear. · Banking sector reforms should preserve the space for national governments to regulate banking services to ensure that they do not discriminate against minorities, the poor or disadvantaged, but instead serve the interests of society by ensuring access to credit for all. If state-provided banking services are considered a better option for achieving those purposes, they should be fully employed. · Central banks should recognize that their autonomy does not mean a lack of responsibility for the fulfillment of human rights obligations undertaken through policies of which they are part and parcel. Central banks must then balance the need to achieve stable and low inflation with their duties to battle income inequities and stabilize employment and means of livelihood of the minorities through various credit and supervisory instruments. To the international community · Principles of accountability and participation in economic policy-making are impaired when intrusive policy conditions are demanded by international financial institutions and donors. States should be empowered to assert that their obligations towards minorities and other vulnerable sectors take full priority over any other economic, trade or investment commitments. Developing countries should have policy space to implement policies that are best for all their citizens, particularly the poorest and the minorities. In this vein, conditionalities imposed by international financial institutions should be removed. Specific policy measures should be agreed upon in advance of any commitments of new resources to the IMF, including more macroeconomic flexibility, and a guarantee that countries will have choice to expand healthcare and education spending, irrespective of budget caps. · Ensure a coordinated global macroeconomic policy response to the global financial and economic crises that focuses on counter-cyclical and expansionary monetary, credit and fiscal policies not only in developed countries, but in all countries. This could include a global stimulus package for economic growth, creation of full and productive employment and decent work, social protection, food security and human development.