6 Chapter CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT 6.1 BUILDING GOVERNMENT CAPACITY ON MINORITY ISSUES Building the capacity of governments and other partners to integrate minorities into development programme will reduce exclusion. It may be challenging for partners to understand the important national benefits that will flow from such inclusion, particularly where discrimination against minorities is deeply entrenched and the balance of power could be upset. The benefits of minority inclusion could be highlighted (see, for example, Chapter 1) and used to encourage government buy-in. A multi-stakeholder dialogue with minority CSOs and national councils for non-discrimination or minorities could inform as to the capacity building needs and form. Capacity building needs will be country specific. Government capacity vis-à-vis some minority groups (e.g. indigenous peoples) may be stronger than towards others. Inter-communal relations and minority CSOs capacity for advocacy are important considerations. Table 6 offers some key suggestions for building capacity at the individual, organizational and enabling environment levels. Consideration of how to build capacity on minority issues can be mainstreamed into all capacity assessments. Some guiding questions include:    Is non-discrimination routinely monitored in all institutional procedures? Are there any statutory institutions with responsibility to oversee non-discrimination issues and/or minority protection issues? Are there measures in place to improve, support and maintain the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of employed staff? Leadership    Are minority CSOs able to operate and to form networks freely? Does the government have any cooperation agreements with minority CSOs? Are high-level actors knowledgeable about, accessible and accountable to minorities? Knowledge    Are public sector staff aware of the situation of minorities in relation to their operational responsibilities? Do public sector staff have access to training on non-discrimination and minority protection? Are they able to apply non-discrimination practices in their daily work? Are minorities able to easily access information on government activities affecting them? Accountability  Institutional arrangements  Are all minorities proportionately represented in public service staff?    Are there any monitoring and evaluation systems to assess the impact of government policies and programmes on minorities? Are minorities able to access mechanisms of complaint regarding government practices that affect them? Do minority actors participate in all civil society initiatives established by government? Are non-discrimination laws fully and equally implemented for minorities? Chapter 6: Capacity Development 91