Monitoring the impact of development programmes on minority groups can help prevent discriminatory effects of such interventions on minorities making better use of public funds by averting increases in inequality. A failure to consider the right of minorities to participate in decision-making that affects them may result in an absence of attention to minority issues in national dialogues on development. This produces negative effects for minorities and for development prospects overall. For example, the World Bank found that growth is more sustainable where access to political power is more evenly distributed, thus producing development decisions that are more likely to benefit all rather than a select few (World Bank 2005, p. 124). Increasing minority participation may produce development policies that include consideration of the causes of poverty for minorities. This can contribute greatly to a shift away from clientelistic practices and towards greater public deliberation on development plans (Fritz et al 2008). Minority participation may be improved by various means. These may include: access to information by minorities on development proposals that impact their communities and levels of inequality in key sectors; the creation and/or engagement of national minority councils in development planning procedures; transparency in budget planning and capacity building of minorities to monitor and engage in these processes; support to minority associations within trade unions, increasing their capacity to secure non-discrimination in labour laws and employment; creation of UNCT mechanisms for minority participation, including designated working groups and consultative/ advisory structures;18 and advocacy for the participation of minority communities at all stages of the poverty-reduction programme. Such participation will aid policy makers in preparing better strategies for poverty reduction that respond both to the expressed needs and the rights of minority groups, and to the issue of discrimination. Rights to identity and culture also play a role in overcoming poverty and hunger. Food has certain cultural aspects, which are associated with how a community or people grows, prepares and eats its food. These are fundamental aspects of the culture and values of a community and of its identity. Cultural acceptability is a core aspect of the right to adequate food.19 When a community’s food-growing capacity is constrained or their ability to secure traditional food is curtailed, elements of its culture may be threatened. The Human Rights Committee noted, with respect to article 27 of the ICCPR, that the right of minorities to practice their culture might encompass traditional activities, such as fishing or hunting or the use of land resources.20 For example, for pastoralist minorities in East Africa, cattle rearing is an integral custom, a source of food and income, but may be jeopardised by economic development policies. Therefore, sensitization to the integral links between minority cultures and food production is important, as is devising strategies to ensure this is protected in the long-term. Cultural and religious identity may also impact priorities and interests in poverty reduction. Cultural and religious preferences can shape the way groups invest their income. For example, pastoralists will be more inclined to invest wealth in livestock. Development planning could take into account these preferences as they can impact on how policies affect the economic security of minorities. Minority groups may wish to emphasise preservation of traditional livelihoods as a component of poverty reduction. This could See, for example, UNIPACK in Kenya and the Inter-Agency Working Group on Intercultural Issues in Ecuador, both discussed in this Resource Guide. 18 CESCR, General Comment No.12 on the Right to Food, UN Doc. E/C.12/1999/5, paragraph 11. 19 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No.23 (Art. 27), UN Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.5, 1994, para. 7. 20 38 M A R G I N A L I S E D M I N O R I T I E S I N D E V E LO P M E N T P R O G R A M M I N g