ACFC/31DOC(2008)001 employment. Specific measures should be taken to redress the consequences of past discrimination and promote these persons’ participation in socio-economic life.10 e) Participation in socio-economic life of persons belonging to disadvantaged national minorities 47. Persons belonging to certain minority groups, among others the Roma and Travellers and indigenous peoples, often face more significant difficulties than others in accessing the labour market, education and training, housing, health care and social protection. Difficulties in the various sectors are often connected and mutually reinforcing and they can lead to a spiral of exclusion from socio-economic participation. Women belonging to these groups are often particularly vulnerable to poverty and social exclusion. 48. Furthermore, a certain number of persons belonging to these groups continue to occupy specific economic niches and pursue traditional activities and trades, which are sometimes difficult to maintain in a rapidly changing economic context. State Parties should remove undue obstacles, including excessive regulations, which hinds the practice of economic activities which are specific to certain minority groups. This concern should be borne in mind when new regulations in this area are developed. 49. In order to promote effective integration of persons belonging to disadvantaged minority groups in socio-economic life, comprehensive and long-term strategies should be designed and implemented. Where such strategies are in place, particular attention should be paid to their effective implementation. Adequate resources need to be provided in a timely manner at all levels of operation, especially locally. Furthermore, the implementation of such policies should be carefully monitored and their impact evaluated, in close co-operation with representatives of the minorities concerned, with a view to adapting and strengthening them over time. Effective coordination of measures undertaken by the various bodies involved should be a key concern. f) Access to land and property as a condition for participation in socio-economic life 50. Obstacles to obtaining access to property (whether residential, commercial or agricultural) can have a disproportionate effect on persons belonging to national minorities, aggravating their economic difficulties and unemployment. 51. The unequal access to property, including land property, is sometimes connected with privatisation processes and processes of property restitution which, in some cases, have had a disproportionate impact on persons belonging to vulnerable minority groups. State Parties should therefore ensure equal and fair access to privatisation and property restitution processes, as these have long-term implications for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in economic life. In order to enhance full and effective equality for persons belonging to national minorities, the authorities should, in particular, ensure that the privatisation process is transparent and set up mechanisms to 10 See for example 2nd Opinion on Croatia, adopted on 1 October 2004, paragraphs 60 to 62. 18