Three overarching contributions of UNDP to achieving the MDGs for minorities could be:  supporting the articulation of minority concerns for reaching the MDGs, (e.g. through hosting consultations or developing theme groups on minority issues);  encouraging governments to measure the progress of minorities’ in all MDG reporting and;  disseminating information on the MDGs to minority groups (e.g. translating MDG reports into minority languages; inviting minorities to participate in discussions about the MDGs, including facilitating dialogue on the MDGs in minority areas, and supporting minority CSOs’ efforts to engage their governments in discussions about the MDGs). Box 3: Where are minorities in the MDG Reports? In 2006, the UN Independent Expert on minority issues conducted a review of MDG country reports to explore whether and how minorities are discussed in progress for achieving the MDGs (see Annex VI, Themes - Reports of the Independent Expert on Minority Issues). The study found that ethnic or linguistic minorities were mentioned in only 19 of the 50 MDG country reports reviewed, most often under Goal 2 on education. Some promising practices were also noted, including:   providing background information on minority groups within the country, including poverty indicators that are disaggregated by membership in an ethnic, religious or linguistic group and also by gender; discussing the rationale for specially targeted poverty reduction measures for minorities, based on an analysis of disproportionate and persistent inequalities experienced by certain minority groups over time and the failure of previous approaches to benefit such groups;  giving specific attention to the situation of minority women and girls and providing targeted efforts to overcome the inequalities they experience;  discussing the importance of the participation of minorities in the elaboration and implementation of MDG and PRSP-related development programmes and projects, especially at the level of local governance;  adding MDG-Plus Targets aimed at marginalised minorities and including ethnically disaggregated indicators for monitoring progress towards MDG and PRSP objectives;  making commitments to improve the legal framework for enabling citizens to better access their human rights;  taking a comprehensive approach to poverty reduction by including mainstreaming and targeted measures for minorities not only in the area of income growth but also key issues such as education, health, governance and access to information. Chapter 4: Minorities in Development 35