A/HRC/30/26 extended limited voting rights to non-citizens and some allow non-citizens to stand as candidates in local elections and be members of the boards of self-governing bodies. Quotas may increase access to elected positions for women, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender individuals and members of minorities. Quotas work best when they are monitored and accompanied by sanctions for non-compliance. 71. Full and effective participation in political and public affairs is best ensured when the right itself, combined with the right to equality and non-discrimination, is recognized in national legislation and when limitations to this right are exceptional and justified by reasonable and objective criteria. The right to participate in political and public affairs should be enforceable by law and its denial should be open to judicial challenge. Appropriate remedies should be available if a violation is established. 72. Legal frameworks that include the explicit right of individuals and groups to participate in the design, implementation and evaluation of any policy, programme or strategy that affects their rights, at the local, national and international levels are most conducive to the full realization of the right to participate in political and public affairs. 73. Exercise of the right to participate in political and public affairs further depends on transparency and on access to full, updated and understandable information. This information should be made available free of charge and with sufficient time in advance. Participation in political and public affairs is strengthened when important decisions, such as those on budget and resource allocation, are open for discussion. Participation mechanisms should be premised on empowerment and capacity-building. 74. Equal access to public service, as a component of the right to political and public participation, can be promoted through diversity programmes, separate recruitments processes or affirmative measures. 75. Public life has also been enriched through new forms of participation, such as citizens’ initiatives and e-Government, and through the use of information and communication technologies. 76. As regards participation of women in political and public affairs, States reported encouraging political parties to adopt effective measures to ensure that women are placed in top positions on candidates lists so as to have better chances of being elected as well as fully represented in senior positions in the structures of the parties. It is also important to include issues relating to women in election campaigns and platforms and to appoint women to senior decision-making roles in the executive, legislative and judiciary. A number of States referred to the “zipper” requirement for electoral lists, which alternate women and men candidates, and to State funding to political parties being contingent on compliance with requirements for increased women’s representation. 77. With respect to indigenous peoples, measures to increase their participation include making information available in indigenous languages and consultation with indigenous bodies. In the event that consultation does not take place, various measures have been judicially ordered, from invalidation of approval for Government projects, especially in the mining, forestry and energy sectors, to remedies for those affected. 78. States also referred to a number of best practices relating to participation in political and public affairs by members of minorities. Some States reported on lowered thresholds for minorities to join elected bodies; others mentioned the system of seats reserved for minorities in elected bodies, favorable delimitation of the constituencies, or the creation of a council of minority representatives. Minorities in 18