Sinn Fein has called for the new Northern Ireland government to include a Department of Equality. The person appointed minister of the department would have to be "committed to change", Mr Gerry Adams said.
"It would seem to me that it would be better if that position was held by a nationalist, but let's see who is elected, and let's see if there are other people there with a mandate, and let's then negotiate who is best suited to fulfil that job," the Sinn Fein president said yesterday.
He said there had been "some reconstruction of unionism", and that the unionist electorate who voted Yes in the referendum wanted change, but this was not yet reflected in the stances taken by unionist leaders.
Sinn Fein was giving its formal response to a British government White Paper, "Partnership for Equality", published in February. One issue it set out to address was the fact that a Catholic male is still twice as likely to be unemployed as a Protestant male.
Ms Bairbre de Brun said the White Paper was inadequate and would have to be reassessed to make its proposals consistent with the Belfast Agreement. "It fails to meet the standards set in the agreement," she said.
There was a need for definite goals, timetables and affirmative action, and a Department of Equality would be central to the success of an anti-discrimination programme. Policies on tackling social disadvantage would have to be properly implemented and resourced.
The White Paper, according to Sinn Fein, "rejected, ignored, or interpreted in a minimalist way" key recommendations made by the Standing Advisory Commission on Human Rights in its report in 1997.
Mr Adams said inequality and oppression were the cement which had "held this statelet together since its inception", but Sinn Fein's demand for equality of opportunity was "not about taking jobs or opportunities from one section of our people to give to another section".
Ms de Brun criticised the fact that 2011 was given as a target in the White Paper for reducing the difference in the levels of unemployment between Catholics and Protestants. She said the proposals lacked "the urgency that is required".
Canvassing in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, yesterday, Mr Adams said his party remained the catalyst for change. "There have been many agreements before this one and they all failed because they lacked the republican hand in shaping them.
"That is what made the difference this time round and that is why, despite the many unresolved issues, this agreement has the best chance of working, of taking us out of conflict," he said.
Sinn Fein was committed to working every aspect of the Belfast Agreement, he said. "We are looking forward to playing a full and active part in the Assembly, the executive and the all-Ireland ministerial council. We are looking forward to taking our seats in all these bodies. We intend bringing the republican analysis into the heart of institutional politics across this island."