3.6 EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION:
The right to effective participation for minorities can be divided into three key aspects: the
right to participate in public life and decisionmaking, especially on issues that affect them;
the right to participate in the life of their own
community; and the right to participate in the
benefits of economic progress and development.
The right of everyone to participate in the
conduct of public affairs is outlined in article 25
of the ICCPR. The UN Declaration on the Rights
of National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic
Minorities reaffirms that “persons belonging to
minorities have the right to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and
public life” (article 2.2). Given that minorities are
frequently excluded from public participation,
the UN Declaration on the Rights of National
or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
states, “persons belonging to minorities have
the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate,
the regional level concerning the minority to
which they belong or the regions in which they
live” (Article 2.3).
Minorities also have a right to form their own
associations (UNDM article 2.4). This right
extends to forming peaceful associations and
contact across territorial boundaries with members of the same identity group or with other
minorities (UNDM article 2.5).
To facilitate the participation of minorities in the
economic sphere “States should consider appropriate measures so that persons belonging to
minorities may participate in the economic progress and development in their country” (UNDM
article 4.5). The integration of minorities into the
development process should take place in ways
that ensure minorities can preserve their identity
as they wish.
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The key message in all these provisions is effective
participation. Any mechanisms for participation
should be genuine and inclusive. Opportunities
for consultation should be provided before decisions are made. Development partners should
take into consideration the outcomes of the consultation process when making final decisions.
Development partners can ensure that the consultation process includes wide participation
from within the minority community. Problems
may arise if such engagement only deals with
select community leaders who may not represent the community as a whole. For example,
community leaders or spokespersons are often
older men and may not reflect the opinions
or priorities of women or other marginalised
groups in the community. Such consideration
is to be balanced with due recognition of any
traditional leadership structures that exist in the
minority community.
Minorities that are also indigenous peoples
have specific provisions that impact on their
participation rights, including rights to selfdetermination and to free, prior and informed
consent. The UN Declaration on the Rights
of Indigenous Peoples calls upon the “organs
and specialized agencies of the United Nations
system and other inter-governmental organizations” to establish a “way and means of ensuring
participation of indigenous peoples on issues
affecting them” (article 41). Also see the UNDG
Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues, (2008,
p. 12 and 28).
Key Messages
Minorities have a right to participate in
decision-making that affects them.
Measures to ensure the equal participation of marginalised groups within
minority communities are needed.
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