The situation of people with disabilities and the link between obstacles faced by
people with disabilities and effective participation of minorities
Access to natural resources
Awareness raising and free and accessible education on minority rights and
participatory rights for all, including political actors
Minority empowerment through suitable mechanisms
The need to ensure the availability of education in minority language
The importance of election monitoring
Item VI—Impact of electoral systems and role of political parties 11
Issues for presentation and discussion focused on differing electoral systems and the
policies and practices of political parties that either impede or promote the successful
inclusion of minorities in mainstream electoral policies.
Mr Edward Shalala, Head of Design of Democratic Institutions and Processes at
International—IDEA, gave a presentation on the design of democratic institutions and
processes, starting from the Constitution-design or review process that should be fully
inclusive and participatory. He underlined that the Constitution should include a fully
enforceable Bill of Rights and incorporate enforceable provisions guaranteeing effective
political participation for all. He further stated that modern constitutions frequently
provide for independent public institutions to protect human rights and that best practices
point towards a Constitutional court to act as a guardian of the Constitution. This process
should be followed by the drafting and adoption of legislation empowered by the
Constitution as well as the implementation of the Constitution itself. Mr Shalala noted
that an electoral system can be specified in the Constitution, or in legislation, or outlined
in the Constitution and elaborated in legislation and that critical minority rights that
should govern the design of electoral systems include: the right to participate in public
life and not to be discriminated against, equal treatment, the right of all minorities to be
recognized and the right to choose to be or not to be associated with a minority group.
Mr Denis Kadima, Executive Director of EISA, addressed the “Impact of electoral
systems and role of political parties: the experience in several African countries” first
pointing out that empirical studies demonstrate that proportional representation has
generally resulted in good representation of minorities and that, in southern Africa,
electoral system engineering was aimed at establishing a democratic dispensation while
providing for meaningful minority representation and participation. Following examples
of closed list and open list proportional representation in this region, he stressed that
electoral systems do not work in vacuum and that the systems cannot be the solution to
everything, their impact and effectiveness depending on several factors, including, the
type of minority (geographical distribution, fragmentation versus unity), party regulation
and anticipated outcome, quality of election management, strength of parliament and the
role of party leaders.
11
The full text of the presentations is available on the Forum’s website at:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/minority/oral_statements_forum_minority_2009.htm
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