(c) To apply a gender perspective in his or her work; (d) To cooperate closely, while avoiding duplication, with existing relevant United Nations bodies, mandates and mechanisms, as well as regional organizations; (e) To take into account the views of NGOs on matters pertaining to her mandate. The Independent Expert is guided by international standards relating to the rights of minorities, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and provisions of other international treaties specifically relating to minority rights, including article 27 of the ICCPR and article 30 of the CRC. The Independent Expert notes that the rights guaranteed in all other UN human rights conventions apply equally to members of minority groups. In addition, other existing regional human and minority rights instruments and mechanisms including, for example, the Council of Europe’s 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities may be applied. The work of treaty-monitoring bodies also provides valuable sources of expertise, including authoritative interpretations of standards relevant to minorities. The Independent Expert has developed a strong collaboration with CERD. The independent expert has identified four broad areas of concern relating to minorities around the world, based on the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities and other relevant international standards relating to minority rights: (a) protecting a minority’s survival, including through protection of their physical integrity and the prevention of genocide; (b) protecting and promoting cultural and social identity, including the right of individuals to choose which ethnic, linguistic or religious groups they wish to be identified with, and 154 the right of those groups to affirm and protect their collective identity and to reject forced assimilation; (c) ensuring effective non-discrimination and equality, including ending structural or systemic discrimination; and (d) ensuring effective participation of members of minorities in public life, especially with regard to decisions that affect them. The Independent Expert also takes note of the collective nature of minority rights. This is important for the promotion and protection of minority identity and visibility, for the informed participation of these groups in decisions that affect their rights and resources, and for securing collective claims to linguistically and culturally appropriate education, land and other shared assets. While the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities examines rights that may be claimed by individual members of minority communities, those claims will often require the State to ensure the existence or identity of the group as a whole. The Independent Expert employs various methods of work in order to achieve the most effective results. These include consultation with governments, including through communications (allegation letters and urgent appeals) and country visits. Such communications, often sent jointly with other mandates, are based on information received from a variety of sources, including NGOs and representatives of minority communities. Since 2005, the Independent Expert has conducted country visits to the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guyana, Hungary and Kazakhstan. During country visits, consultations are held with various stakeholders, including senior government representatives, CSOs, minority groups, UN agencies, bodies and mechanisms, regional and other intergovernmental organizations, and academic, legal, research and policy development M A R G I N A L I S E D M I N O R I T I E S I N D E V E LO P M E N T P R O G R A M M I N g