majority) communities and garnering the necessary political will for return to occur in a timely, transparent and equitable manner. Promote access to justice for minorities: In security sector reform, efforts can be made to include minorities amongst new security and justice personnel, including human rights training and monitoring of security forces’ relations with minority communities. Creating Ombudsperson offices and similar complaints mechanisms to militate against discrimination will help to improve access to justice for all groups. Box 7: MRG recommends the most important steps to protect minority rights after an ethnic or religious conflict:     62 Stop violence against minorities, ensure a justice system that identifies and prosecutes perpetrators, especially the leaders. Ensure that all communities are free from attack, including minority women. Support local ownership over reconciliation: Minority representatives recommend that local CSOs be involved as much as possible in sustainable peacebuilding initiatives. In some cases, governments will find it difficult to accept cooperation with communities that had segments of their populations acting as combatants, terrorists or calling for secession. It is possible to identify CSOs that are promoting genuinely non-violent and constructive peace-building initiatives. Use can be made also of traditional dispute resolution and reconciliation mechanisms followed by minority communities.  If power-sharing is considered the only option, have a clause providing for a review or termination after a fixed period. Do not have any system that forces persons into ethnic groups.  Create an effective legal system that uses all languages in the country and is open to all. Ensure minorities have financial means to use it.  Create a system to outlaw discrimination, and give effective (legal and other) remedies against it.  Ensure minorities do not leave against their will, by providing security and financial assistance. Provide conditions for minorities to return who have recently left as quickly as possible. Set up systems for identifying owners of property and returning these. If quotas are deemed necessary, make them temporary and ensure the discrimination is addressed first.  Prohibit and prosecute hate speech, especially in the media and education. Ensure economic development does not marginalise communities, or destroy their identity. Ensure those involved in development understand discrimination.  Create an education system that ensures all children can learn their communities’ language, religion and culture, but also creates common experiences and understanding. Ensure a shared history curriculum. Create a political system based on equality. Remove (and do not insert any new) references to a country being based on a particular people, religion or constituent peoples. Source: C. Baldwin, C. Chapman and Z. Gray, Minority Rights: The Key to Conflict Prevention, London: MRG 2007. 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