8  •  Guidance Note of the Secretary-General on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities risk. In some cases, this can be persons belonging to religious minorities whereas in others it can be, for example, persons in need of international protection, internally displaced persons, migrant workers and their families in particular sectors or specific minorities, such as Roma, who are frequent targets of racial discrimination and other human rights violations. In many countries, UN action needs to reflect the fact that indigenous peoples are particularly marginalized and discriminated against by the dominant populations and excluded from participation in public life. These problems are often coupled with denial of their self-determination and other rights in fields such as land and resources, education, employment, health, birth registration and housing, stipulated in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) and other documents.9 20. In many cases, the situation of minority children and youth is an urgent concern from the perspective of racial discrimination and minority rights, with problems ranging from discrimination in accessing quality health care and education to harmful traditional practices. Problems of forcibly displaced as well as stateless persons also merit particular attention in a number of contexts, keeping in mind that minorities are often disproportionately affected by forced displacement and statelessness and face serious challenges in access to citizenship and related documentation. Furthermore, UN action and policies should reflect the fact that persons targeted for discrimination based on descent, in particular caste-based discrimination and related practices, are in a number of contexts in a particularly marginalized position and in need of focused attention. 6. Ensure local ownership and participation 21. In order to ensure sustainable impact, there is a need to ensure wide local ownership in the areas of UN engagement on racial discrimination and minorities. While engagement with the authorities is a key component of building such ownership, proactive, constructive and early engagement with both minorities and majorities is also called for, including through civil society, minority representatives, workers’ and employers’ organizations, faith-based and other organizations, religious communities and traditional authorities to ensure culturally informed decisions that reflect the specific human rights challenges and other concerns of minorities. This can be advanced by elaborating relevant partnership strategies with a range of civil society and other counterparts. Such efforts may include structures devoted to dialogue, including focal points and country-specific consultative structures for minorities, the establishment of which has been recommended also by the UN Forum on Minority Issues. 9 For detailed guidance for UN country teams for programming on indigenous peoples’ issues, in particular in the framework of the CCA/UNDAF process, see UNDG Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues and UNDG Action Plan on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues (General Plan of Action for the rolling out and implementation of the UNDG Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues (5-year plan)), adopted in 2008.