Strategies for economic growth that rely heavily
on natural resource exploitation often have an
adverse impact on minority communities living
in affected areas. When wealth is extracted, the
return for minorities is typically low and they
are left with environmental degradation and
low human development. This exclusion from
the benefits of natural resource extraction may
create tension among minority groups that can
even lead to conflict.
Protection of minority rights can help achieve
MDG 7 targets. Discrimination in access to justice
for land and housing rights needs to be addressed
in efforts to reduce displacement and slum living.
MDG 7 could be more effectively achieved with
legal recognition of property rights for minorities, and with full consultation and compensation
for minority groups in situations where displacement is unavoidable. ‘Environmental racism’
may be tackled with such measures that strictly
enforce environmental laws in minority areas
and provide remedies to minorities harmed by
environmental degradation.
Governments could reduce net migration to
urban slums by adopting “special measures”
for achieving greater equality in living conditions and employment opportunities in regions
where minorities live. In Brazil, for example, the
government responded to the fact that many
Afro-Brazilians “live in areas with higher levels of
inadequate housing and do not have access to
credit for housing purposes” by adopting “several programmes and actions directed towards
the diversification of the forms of access to
housing, such as: […] building of houses for
residents in land reform settlements, indigenous
and quilombola (slave descendant) communities, in addition to the supply of direct subsidies
to the poorer population” (IPEA 2004, p. 77).
The participation of minorities in devising
sustainable development strategies is essential. Minorities have the right to participate
in decision-making that affects them and the
regions where they live. This participation can
reveal also important access issues.
Protection of the cultural identity of minorities
is often linked to environmental issues. Income
security can be strengthened where support
is given to traditional livelihoods of minorities,
a measure that can also reduce net migration
to urban slums for work. An understanding of
how culture impacts on practices of health,
food cultivation and housing can mitigate
negative effects of displacement to new regions
where necessary.
4.3 DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
All governments work for multi-ethnic and multicultural constituencies. Devising effective ways
to manage this diversity within democratic governance requires transparency, inter-communal
dialogue and respect for human rights, including
minority rights. Democratic governance can
emphasize policies that create an inclusive
society. Democratic governance is facilitated
where the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural composition of the State is fully recognized.
Minorities, especially minority women, frequently lack representation in government at
the local or national level. Therefore, minorities
have fewer opportunities to make a contribution
to the government’s design, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation of development
policies and programmes. Minorities often lack
access to justice when their rights have been
violated, even where non-discrimination legislation exists. Some minorities are prevented from
obtaining citizenship because of requirements
like language levels or citizenship laws based
on descent; this means they cannot participate
on an equal basis in elections and they can have
difficulties in accessing social security benefits.
Chapter 4: Minorities in Development
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