A/HRC/15/42 and decision-making. To that end, several capacity-building activities were held with a view to facilitate and increase the ability of minorities to draw on United Nations international and regional human rights bodies and mechanisms for the protection of their rights. A. Policing and minority communities 7. A key concern of persons belonging to minorities is their right to participate in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life. Obstacles to the participation of minorities in the administration of justice, including law enforcement structures, can result in the overrepresentation of minorities as both victims and defendants in the criminal justice system. Contributing to increased participation of minorities in the administration of justice continues to be a priority for OHCHR. In order to improve the participation of minorities in law enforcement structures, such as the police, OHCHR has launched a series of consultations on good/effective practices in policing and minority communities. 8. The initial consultation in this area began with an expert meeting on integration with diversity in policing, organized by OHCHR in Vienna on 15 and 16 January 2008, in cooperation with the independent expert on minority issues, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The expert meeting brought together senior police officials from Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and the Pacific, in addition to representatives of several international organizations, all of whom shared their experiences and made good practices recommendations on policing in minority communities (A/HRC/10/38/Add.1). 9. OHCHR continued its efforts to gather good/effective practices in policing and minorities in order to address the underrepresentation of minorities in the police and the deep alienation that often divides minorities and law enforcement representatives. To this end, during the Durban Review Conference, held from 20 to 24 April 2009, OHCHR organized a side event entitled “Durban commitments and minorities: policing in diverse societies”. The objective of the side event was to share information and raise awareness on effective measures to prevent racial discrimination and encourage participation in the police force of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. In addition to panel presentations, the side event included film clips from various regions, displaying innovative approaches to encourage the participation and involvement of representatives from minority communities in all aspects of policing, in accordance with several provisions of the 2001 Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. 10. A second consultation, on the same theme, entitled “Expert consultation on good practices in policing and minority communities in Africa” was organized by OHCHR in Johannesburg on 12 and 13 October 2009. Like the 2008 expert meeting, the consultation brought together high-ranking police officials from various countries of southern Africa, in addition to representatives of national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations, to share and collect good practices. Building on the conclusions reached at the expert meeting, the Johannesburg consultation was an opportunity to identify additional good practices particularly relevant in the subregional context of southern Africa. 11. The participants in the Johannesburg consultation emphasized that policing by a representative police force that had developed effective relationships with minority communities could assist in maintaining public order, reduce levels of criminality and lead to greater communal cohesion. Experts underlined the fact that the police must exercise their functions through a human rights-based approach free of discrimination, and they considered various ways to ensure that the composition of police forces reflect the ethnic, religious and linguistic composition of the population at large. Participants also stressed that a shared understanding of problems and proactive communication between the police 4 GE.10-14893