This dialogue, and a 4 year consultative drafting process, produced the Marginalised Minorities in Development Programming: A UNDP Resource Guide and Toolkit. During this period, I led two UNDP global consultations that brought together over 80 staff from Headquarters, Regional Service Centres, UN Resident Coordinators/UNDP Resident Representatives, and Country Offices and other experts (including Ms. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights) to discuss experiences, lessons learned, and opportunities for developing policies and programmes that can be more sensitive, inclusive and relevant to the most intractable problems faced by the marginalized and the vulnerable people around the world. The process also benefited tremendously from the inputs provided by the Minority Rights Group International, representatives of civil society organizations working on minority issues in over 35countries to an internal discussion paper. The Resource Guide and Toolkit provides an overview of the international and regional legal standards and mechanisms relevant for minority rights and will enable UNDP staff in all regions to understand the key conceptual issues and fundamental principles for the promotion and protection of minority rights. It reviews programming opportunities and relevant strategies for UNDP to integrate minorities in development, including capacity development support for government officials and institutions, UNDP staff and minorities, as well as possible entry points for effective advocacy and partnership building effort. Detailed attention is given to opportunities and strategies in UNDP practice areas. It provides specific tools to assist UNDP staff in building or strengthening their work on minorities in development in such key areas as: situation analysis; data collection; and monitoring and evaluation. Annexes provide a vast number of reference materials, including selected conclusions and recommendations on minority rights from United Nations treaty bodies, and studies and reports of the independent expert. This invaluable source material has the potential to increase the opportunities available to minorities for meaningful participation and representation in development processes and for strengthening partnerships to protect and promote the rights of minorities. It is currently being operationalized in different regional and country contexts. As an initial regional activity to 5