World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

'Human rights requirements insist on freedom for people to articulate their needs and interests, to state what development means for them and to carry it out by and for themselves.'*

In the late 1990s, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were conceived. These eight goals call for increased access to education; a focus on gender equity; more sustainable development; and a reduction in disease, hunger, maternal and child mortality rates, and poverty.

Many people feel that the MDGs are incomplete and need to pay more attention to rights, equity and social justice.

The MDGs are linked to the World Bank-led poverty reduction strategy papers (PRSPs) - the PRSPs are part of a strategy to reduce poverty and increase economic growth - that are meant to represent a way for the MDGs to be realized.

At MRG, we have been concerned for some time about the links between poverty, membership of a minority or indigenous community and access to development. Most minorities or indigenous peoples have higher rates of poverty (fewer educational opportunities, higher mortality rates, higher unemployment, etc.) than other poor groups. Further, poverty reduction strategies have not been as successful for minorities and indigenous peoples as for other groups.

Our recently-concluded Minority Rights and Development programme has given us a sharper focus on what needs to be done, and how. Increasingly, in our campaign on development, we will be seeking to implement minority and indigenous peoples' rights, and targeting those who have a duty to protect those rights.

Our goals

• Minorities and indigenous peoples' participation in PRSP consultation processes;
• the final document reflecting minorities and indigenous peoples' needs;
• minorities and indigenous peoples' monitoring the PRSP's implementation and the effects on their community;
• data on minorities and indigenous peoples being included in MDG progress reports; and,
• development bodies drafting new policies, improving existing policies and/or improving the implementation of existing policies on minorities and indigenous peoples.

MRG's project work

• We are designing a project with partners in five countries. All are at different stages of their country's PRSP process. We aim to pilot and develop best practices to force governments and donors to design and implement poverty reduction programmes with minorities and indigenous peoples. The project will alsocollect disaggregated data on minorities and indigenous peoples' access to government funds and services.
• Our South-East Europe programme on diversity and democracy has a development component. It aims to ensure that development programmes better respond to minorities' needs through: documenting the impact of development programmes on minorities; improving minorities' capacity to advocate for their rights in development; and promoting minorities' participation in development processes at local, regional, national and international levels.
• We are training development bodies and offering them consultancy support.
• We are supporting a three-year project with our partner in Nigeria, MOSOP. This promotes community participation in and advocacy on the UNDP/Shell partnership on community development projects in the Niger delta.

* Tomasevski, K., in R. Riddell, Minorities, Minority Rights and Development, London, MRG, 2002, p. 11.

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