Democratic institutions are less effective at ensuring equality without special protection for minorities. Any initiative in support of democratic governance should be cognizant of the access and participation barriers that minorities may face and work to overcome these barriers. Two key factors are minority access to justice and participation in governance. Before proceeding, a caveat is required. The relationship between the State and marginalised minorities is distinct in some ways from the relationship between the State and other marginalised groups. One of the main differences is political: minority groups are more likely to be viewed by some governments as potential political challengers than other groups. Ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, for example, commonly form political parties, whereas women, persons with disabilities or people living with HIV do not. Governments could be supported to create an environment where minorities can participate on an equal basis in political processes, including strengthening institutions for political freedom so that minority groups may form their own (political) associations. 4.3.1 Access to Justice Minorities often lack access to justice and equal protection of the law due to discrimination. Discrimination can occur in the various stages of law enforcement, from interaction with police, to presentation of court cases and sentencing, and at higher levels of legislative drafting. Minorities are more vulnerable to arbitrary arrests and are less likely to receive a fair trial due to discrimination, under-representation in legal services, higher levels of social exclusion and language barriers. The absence of non-discrimination legislation and/or the lack of effective remedies are common problems. It is important to recall that the ICERD recognises the right of everyone “to equal treatment before the tribunals and all other organs administering justice” (article 5 (a)) without discrimination. This applies to all minorities, including migrant communities. 46 Policing: In many societies, minorities may have a negative relationship with the police. This may be due to discriminatory practices by the police, such as racial profiling, low representation of minorities among the police force, failure of the police to investigate crimes committed against minorities and in some cases violence by the police against minorities. The cumulative effect is that trust and cooperation with the police by minority groups is often very low. There are several solutions for remedying this. The police force could be monitored by the government to ensure that it is not violating the rights of minorities, that it is fully implementing the laws that protect minorities, and that it is investigating and prosecuting crimes committed against minorities, without discrimination. Training on minority rights and the factors of exclusion that affect minorities may be offered and reviewed regularly. The police could reflect the ethnic, religious and linguistic composition of the population at large and greater efforts to recruit and retain minority women and men could be made. Institutionalized racism could be addressed, for instance, with appropriate monitoring and complaints systems. Relations between the police and minority communities may be strengthened by partnership agreements. Such partnerships could be forged between local and national police, minority CSOs and minority community representatives. Such partnerships involve committed, long-term trust building between the parties to ensure mutual understanding, open communication and transparency. Minority community liaison officers are a good tool but engagement could be mainstreamed throughout law enforcement institutions at all levels. Overcoming prejudice and distrust on the part of minorities and the police will be a lengthy and sensitive process but is an important step in building public confidence in the law enforcement system. Given that the police are often at the front line of managing inter-communal conflict, sensitising them to the rights of minorities is also a vital part of conflict prevention. 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