Table 3 (continued) Selected factors in minority poverty Probable impact on national development Low levels of participation in development planning to articulate their specific needs Less effective development plans; increased inequality; less investment in human capital; less trust in government institutions Ensure representation of minorities in development planning consultations; support to minority CSOs; information outreach to minority communities on development proposals Failed resettlement plans that erode cultural livelihoods and community development Increased inequality; higher levels of child and maternal mortality; Lower life expectancy; loss of cultural diversity; weaker social cohesion Avoid involuntary displacement of minority communities; ensure representation of minorities in development planning consultations; provide support to traditional livelihoods and access to voluntary employment training opportunities UNDP could support governments to ensure that minorities overcome poverty, including through the following measures. Improving capacity to monitor poverty reduction for minorities: Better data collection concerning the poverty of minorities can help reveal the causes of this poverty and monitor improvements. Collection of disaggregated data on minorities could provide important baseline information and the evidence to justify specially targeted programmes for minorities. UNDP could offer support to carrying out censuses and surveys that aim to gather information on the situation of minorities. This Guide provides tools for good practice in data collection with the full participation of minorities (see Chapter 9). Facilitating the participation of minorities in designing poverty reduction strategies: Marginalised minority groups should be included in stakeholder dialogues on poverty. They can offer important insights for strengthening poverty reduction strategies in a way that will target hard to reach pockets of Possible policy response poverty. Establishing theme groups to examine the specific situation of minorities can be particularly useful. UNDP could provide greater support to CSOs for minorities (such as travel funds, translation services, access to information) to enable them to participate in an informed manner in such dialogues. Advocating for the improved human development of minority groups: Raising awareness of minority issues is important. Certain National Human Development Reports (NHDRs) have proven effective in providing data that presents the case for greater action on improving the human development of minorities. NHDRs can create opportunities for dialogue on lesser known issues. Governments could be assisted to undertake assessments of barriers and root causes of poverty among minorities. These barriers and causes will be context-specific and will usually require specially targeted intervention and/ or adaptation of inclusive approaches to take account of minority-specific issues like cultural or religious identity and discrimination. Chapter 4: Minorities in Development 33