Minority Rights in Development Aid Policies

8 November 2000

The focus of this Issue Paper is on how major development aid donors incorporate minority rights into their development policies. Few donors have an explicit commitment to minority rights in their development policies. For those that do, their commitment tends to have arisen from events such as the genocides in Rwanda and Guatemala.

This Issue Paper argues that the need for inclusion of minority communities should not be based on conflict-prevention alone. Social exclusion and poverty demand international action and many international standards exist which commit international bodies to tackling discrimination and including minorities.

The Issue Paper examines the changes in development strategies over the past decades, and the changing conditions under which such strategies are put into practice. In sections on donors with an explicit commitment to minority rights in their development policies, the Issue Paper highlights the key issues and factors that have channelled attention to minority rights. The Issue Paper concludes with a call for the production of data demonstrating the scope and depth of denials of ownership and participation in development to minorities, and a set of recommendations for agencies involved in development work.