6.2.2 Training: Specialized training can help UNDP staff and partners to increase their awareness of the situation of minorities and minority rights. Staff could be provided with training on minority rights standards that are relevant for their work and learn from minorities about their cultures, livelihoods and concerns for development. Such training could be integrated into existing training initiatives by including modules on minorities. Trainings with a particular focus on individual practice areas might also be appropriate, enabling an in-depth examination of how minorities can be more effectively included in accordance with their rights, while at the same time encouraging training support to government counterparts on these issues. Special attention in training could be paid to understanding non-discrimination and the promotion of minority rights. This could include raising awareness of international and national non-discrimination standards. It could also include training on the issue of ‘special measures’ to overcome discrimination, which enables governments to take extra steps in the economic, social and political spheres to ensure equality in fact. An understanding of actions that can be taken by States in promoting other minority rights is also important. 6.2.3 Collecting Baseline Data on Minorities: It is important to know who the minority groups are in specific country contexts and across borders. This information might not be readily available from official statistics. Some minority groups may be invisible in such statistics, while other groups may dispute the official measurements of their populations (usually as under-counted). An independent assessment could provide a more accurate picture of the number, geographical distribution and identity of the different minority groups. This may help to reveal inequalities in distribution of resources (especially if minorities are geographically concentrated) and gaps in existing statistics. This Guide provides useful tools for collecting data on minority groups, including information on how to engage minorities in the data collection process (see especially Tool 4). Cooperation with national statistics offices could build capacity for data collection and encourage dialogue on concerns that may arise from changes in data collection procedures (e.g. concerns over privacy law). In some cases, it may be difficult to discern distinct identities, or to understand which minority groups are also indigenous peoples. The official recognition of some groups may not be congruent with self-identification. However, international law favours self-identification, rather than state recognition, as a key indicator of minority (or indigenous) status. Chapter 6: Capacity Development 95