Does the participation of members of minorities in public life have an effect on gender equality within the community and in the society at large? What kind of mechanisms have been or could be promoted to encourage minority women’s participation?  What are the possibilities for the UN to build the capacity of minority groups to participate in decision-making and to monitor the implementation of public policies?       114 Promotion of inclusiveness and participation in development:  Protection of the provisions of basic social services for minorities:  How does poverty particularly affect minorities in the country? Are persons belonging to minorities considered to be disproportionately affected by poverty? Why? Do minority groups experience or present special health concerns? Is, for example, HIV prevalence or the incidence of poverty-related disease or malnutrition different from the rest of the population? If so, what are the causes?  What can be done to better ensure that social services are equally accessible and appropriate to the specific needs of women and men belonging to minority groups? What are the possibilities for the UN to help the Government to improve social policies supporting the provision of basic social services for minorities?  While carrying out assessments and project design, have the widest possible consultations with the targeted groups been ensured? Have there been any efforts to ensure participation of the least powerful and assertive from these groups (i.e. women, people living with HIV, children, persons with disabilities, youth, non-citizens), including the creation of conditions to ensure their equal involvement in the process? Has the human rights-based approach to development been used to ensure the active, free and meaningful participation of those affected by the development processes? Have the legitimate interests of minorities been taken into account in the development of national policies and programmes including in the planning and implementing processes?   Promotion and protection of the rights of minority children:  What resources do minorities control or manage locally for service delivery? Are these gender-sensitive services? Are minority groups able to monitor the delivery of basic social services? Do the main social indicators such as hunger, child mortality rates, health conditions and school enrolment reflect any particular difference between the conditions of the mainstream society and that of minorities?  How is the general situation of minority children in the country? What information is available to make an assessment of the situation? Do we need to improve our information? If there is an internal displacement situation, how is the situation of minority children being monitored? M A R G I N A L I S E D M I N O R I T I E S I N D E V E LO P M E N T P R O G R A M M I N g