can support this process through expertise and dialogue, including in settings such as the Forum on Minority Issues. Ms. Lydia Saleshando, from the University of Botswana, presented on “National reforms on minority issues in Botswana: Implementing the Declaration”. She first informed participants that the discrimination enshrined in laws in Botswana has led to minority-dominated areas to be poverty stricken and characterized by under achievement of children in schools, thus creating poverty circles in many families. She however noted efforts and achievements that the Government had made in the promotion of the principles enshrined in the Declaration, pointing out that engagement with Government has been possible in a few instances and minority issues have been raised in Parliament. On the other hand, she noted that education of minority children in a second or third language continues to contribute to high failure rates in minority dominated areas. Relocation of citizens from their ancestral land and destruction of their property by Land Boards is a common act for many years and equality before the law continues to be a concern. In this regard, she noted that knowledge of the Declaration at the national level remained low. Following a series of recommendations that included for the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and African Governments to collaborate with NGOs to publicise the Declaration at national and community levels, she concluded by stressing that continued engagement with Governments on minority issues, by the international community and at local level, is likely to create an enabling environment for the implementation of the Declaration in Botswana and elsewhere. Ms. Anna Rothery Fox, a member of the Liverpool city Council, presented on “Liverpool—A case study on minorities and effective political participation” first highlighting the city’s unique culture as a direct outcome of its diverse communities and the fact that diversity is not about quantity but about the breadth of differences and how the society values and respects these differences. She gave a few examples of good practices that demonstrated commitment, including the launching by the Liverpool Fairness Commission in July 2012 of the Liverpool Fairness Charter, the Minimum Standards Charter: a Voluntary Code of Practice on Employing Migrant and European Workers, as well as engagement, such as the Community Cohesion Team working across the city to improve relations between the different ethnic communities. She mentioned other examples of positive partnerships including the New Communities Forum where best practices are shared and that represents an opportunity for networking and gathering views from a wide range of communities. In terms of education, she presented a few examples of measures that have been implemented such as an educational programme that uses creative resources to tackle issues around violence and the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service that makes a difference to children from Black and Racial minority groups. 10