A/HRC/19/27 Development Programme (UNDP) in cooperation with Minority Rights Group International. Issues relating to the need to secure the effective participation of minorities in efforts to improve sustainable development and overcoming their marginalization in poverty reduction strategies were addressed. A. Policing and minority communities 8. Since 2008, OHCHR has organized four regional consultations with a view to encouraging the participation of minorities in the administration of justice by means of law enforcement and, more specifically, policing. The goal of the consultations has been to gather effective practices in the field of policing and minority communities. Previous annual reports of the High Commissioner contained summaries on the consultations. 9. Building on the results of the consultations and the information shared with regard to effective practices and the challenges that are to be tackled to combat exclusion and to move towards greater participation and representation of minorities in the police service, OHCHR held its fourth expert consultation on the theme of effective practices in policing and minority communities in the Asia Pacific in Bangkok in May 2011. 10. Similarly to the three previous consultations, the goal of fourth consultation was to provide a forum for discussions and exchange of experiences with a view to gather effective practices in policing and minority communities from the region. All the had the overall objective of creating a tool in the form of a set of guidelines that could serve to provide law enforcement agencies with advice on how best to approach the inclusion of minorities in policing by means of participation and representation. At the consultation, participants explored regional challenges to and opportunities for increasing the representation and participation of minorities in policing, and identified effective practices for maintaining police professional standards of conduct vis-à-vis minorities. It brought together experts from Australia, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Thailand, as well as a member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. A number of United Nations agencies and programmes were represented, including the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UNDP, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the International Organization for Migrations (IOM). The Human Rights Commission of Thailand and the non-governmental organization Minority Rights Group International and Forum Asia also participated in the consultation. 11. With regard to the effective participation of minorities in policing, the practices shared during the consultation reinforced, inter alia, the conclusions that: • The representation and participation of minorities in policing can only be ensured through an inclusive recruitment strategy that is holistic, transparent and accountable • The participation of minorities in policing can be effectively encouraged through positive measures and quotas • Due respect for minority identity dress symbols can be accommodated as long as it does not hinder the implementation of the tasks of law enforcement • Enhanced recruitment of minorities does not require that the criteria for recruitment be reduced, but can be achieved • An independent monitoring mechanism of performance that is based on neutrality and dignity is essential 4