8 Chapter SITUATION ANALYSIS TOOLS TOOL NO. 1: CHECKLIST FOR DEVELOPING PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS ON MINORITIES IN DEVELOPMENT The following checklist draws from an Information Note developed by OHCHR for its staff and other practitioners, with the support of the Inter-Agency Group on Minorities (composed of OHCHR, UNDP, UNESCO, UNOCHA, UNITAR, ILO, UNCTAD and WHO etc.). Using this tool: This tool has been developed in accordance with the provisions of the UN Declaration on the Rights of National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. It is useful for collecting a range of baseline information, which can be used, inter alia, to help build activities to promote and protect rights of minorities. Several sections address the needs and rights of particular minority groups, including displaced minorities, minority women, and religious minorities. The tool provides helpful guiding questions to inform the creation of specific surveys. Part F provides guidance on how the UN may support the effective participation of persons belonging to minorities. OHCHR presents the tool as a work-in-progress that could be expanded in due course taking into consideration experiences from the field. If using this tool, it might be helpful to coordinate activities with OHCHR field staff and/or the OHCHR Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Unit (minorities@ohchr.org). A. Understanding and assessing the situation of minorities in a given country        Are minority groups recognized in the country? If so, is it through any specific legal or policy framework? What are the most relevant concerns for minorities in the country, i.e. gaps and situation analysis to assess which rights to which minorities are entitled, are not being enjoyed and for what reasons? Are these concerns specific to the minority or do other groups or sectors of the society share the same concerns? Are these concerns equally affecting women and men within the minority groups and in the society at large? What recommendations have the human rights treaty bodies or the special procedures made regarding the situation of minorities? Are there NGOs working on the issues of minorities? Have they, or NHRIs, produced reports, surveys or other studies, or have concerns relating to minorities been raised by the media or international NGOs? Does any disaggregated data exist along ethnic or religious lines that tell us something about the situations of minorities in relation to the general population? Chapter 8: Situation Analysis Tools 111