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Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Another interesting example of good practice is the fact-finding mission organized by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union to Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to look into the situation of the migratory pastoralist Mbororo community. The Mbororo have been spreading in migrating waves across the countries in question over thousands of years. The mission was triggered by the increasing occurrence of conflict between the Mbororo and local settled agriculturalist communities with whom they entered into contact.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- As the Secretary-General affirmed in his report, early warning does not equate with early action (A/64/864, para. 19). States and international organizations remain reluctant to take action until violence has started. That is regrettable. Too much of the engagement of the international community is too late on the conflict continuum that spans from grievances to violence. As conflict situations escalate, the human costs on the ground and the political and financial costs to the international community escalate exponentially.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Linking political participation exclusively with ethnic identity by requiring that candidates standing for election be members of certain ethnic groups and that voters belonging to certain ethnic groups be allowed to vote only for candidates from their respective groups can be detrimental to the effective political participation of minorities. As previously noted, language proficiency requirements imposed on candidates can also negatively impact the effective participation of persons belonging to minorities and in certain cases have been deemed illegal by human rights bodies and courts.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- While no single, one-size-fits-all solution exists to ensure proper implementation of the right to effective participation, a number of features of participation models and mechanisms can be identified. As regards the choice of a particular electoral system, international law does not impose any specific solution either. The Human Rights Committee has held that "the system must be compatible with the rights protected by article 25 (of the Covenant) and must guarantee and give effect to the free expression of the will of the electors".
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- There are electoral systems where voters can vote for more than one candidate from different parties, ranking them in order of choice, and the lower-order preferences are taken into account if no candidate reaches a threshold number of votes on the first-preference votes. This system may facilitate minority representation and is also thought to promote inter-group cooperation as parties seek second-preference votes from other parties' supporters. It may also encourage mainstream parties to take up minority issues.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- The demarcation of boundaries of electoral districts may also be carried out in such a way as to facilitate representation of minorities if the minority is territorially concentrated, even though there is no reserved seat for the minority as such. The number of minority seats may also be increased by creating smaller electoral districts and thereby increasing their number. To ensure that boundaries do not unfairly prejudice any group, an official demarcation body independent of Government and with a fully representative membership should be set up.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Preventive diplomacy can be most effective when tensions first arise between a Government and a minority, and they are relatively susceptible to third party engagement. Envoys may work discreetly and all parties may be willing to calmly present their concerns, and to explore possible solutions. When a situation develops from these initial tensions to actual incidences of violence, positions begin to harden and resistance to compromise grows. It becomes more difficult for leaders to make compromises as the depth of feeling and emotion among their constituencies increases.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- United Nations country teams should analyse the extent to which discrimination on ethnic, religious and linguistic grounds creates disparities in outcomes relating to their programming. Country teams should promote and support the collection of disaggregated data on minorities. All existing programmes should be assessed and revised based on that analysis. Minority communities should participate fully at all stages of programming from research and design to monitoring and evaluation.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The human rights situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism 2015, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- In Bulgaria, under the "Thank you, Mayor!" campaign, a grass-roots organization invested in capacity-building initiatives for local Roma advocacy groups. The campaign mobilized local activists and stakeholders, empowering them to develop and implement, in partnership with local administrations, successful Roma inclusion strategies in 12 municipalities. The project demonstrates how inclusive dialogue between Roma communities and local municipalities and a bottom-up approach can produce concrete commitments from local administrations.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Year
- 2015
Paragraph
Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Minority rights-based approaches require concrete policy measures and positive actions by the State to create substantive equality in all areas and to protect and promote the rights of religious minorities. The broad scope of international legal requirements for religious minorities contrasts sharply with the multiple restrictions that States impose and which even risk the viable continuity of religious minorities at the national level.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- The views of young people from minority communities must be taken into account. While young people face different challenges and have different perceptions of their identity, and some may have weaker commitments to minority language and culture, many have a strong desire to maintain their language. They may wish to find new opportunities and expressions of their cultures and identity, for example in the arts, music and theatre, and those needs must be accommodated to the fullest extent possible.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Despite the valuable new attention to inequalities, even within the numerous consultation reports emerging from the process, there is a tendency to place minorities at the end of a long list of disadvantaged groups or ignore them completely. The message that emerges from these high-level documents is that they are a relatively low priority in comparison to other inequality issues including gender equality, disability, children and age.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Failure to act on early warnings is not confined to the national level. In April 1993, the then Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions visited Rwanda. His report, made public in August 1993 but not taken up by the Commission on Human Rights until the following March, warned that the targeting of ethnic Tutsis solely because they belonged to a specific ethnic group might constitute genocide. The international community failed to act on those warnings with tragic consequences.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- In some situations, members of minority communities have testified that law enforcement bodies were present or informed at the time violence that took place but had failed to arrive or intervene. In the worst cases, victims reported that law enforcement officers actively participated in violent attacks or colluded with the attackers. In other cases, law enforcement personnel might be poorly equipped or motivated, lack appropriate training or the appropriate command structure to respond to violence.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 40
- Paragraph text
- Information received by the previous mandate holder and the work of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, as well as other holders of thematic mandates, have revealed disturbing patterns of attacks and violence against members of religious minorities and their places of worship. In this context, the Special Rapporteur presented a thematic report to the General Assembly in 2013 (A/68/268) on minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- Public proclamations regarding national identity, for example in the constitution, and key national symbols should be fully inclusive, and should not exclude segments of a country's population nor deny, explicitly or implicitly, the full diversity of the population.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 102
- Paragraph text
- National human rights institutions should have mandates that explicitly include the protection and promotion of minority rights and expertise in the field of minority rights. Consideration should be given to establishing dedicated consultative and advisory bodies to help ensure that minority issues are adequately addressed at the national and local levels.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- In such situations Governments may become nervous when ethnic, religious or linguistic groups attempt to assert their identity. There may be an assumption that what those groups want is to separate themselves from the State. However, many conflicts involving minorities start as peaceful demands to be included in the society on the basis of equal treatment.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- The most appropriate system will depend on the specificities of the situation, including how populous the communities are, whether they are geographically dispersed or concentrated, the aspirations of the minority groups and how well integrated they are into the broader society. The flexibility of the minority rights framework makes it well suited to the compromises necessary in processes of negotiating solutions, diffusing tensions and avoiding violent conflicts.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Peace agreements at the end of internal armed conflicts often include some kind of power-sharing institutional arrangement. However, modalities for including minorities in political structures could usefully be identified at earlier stages to avoid conflict. Respecting the right of minorities to political participation at times of peace contributes to harmonious societies and opens non-violent avenues for the grievances of minorities to be addressed.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- The reality - and often the perception - of discrimination in access to any kind of resources, whether in relation to jobs, land ownership, political power or natural resources, is a strong driver of conflict. The Declaration states, in article 4 (1), that "States shall take measures where required to ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully and effectively all their human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law".
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 109
- Paragraph text
- The United Nations should continue to make efforts to share the experiences of a variety of agencies with early warning methodologies, including those systems which combine quantitative and qualitative indicators, and should incorporate minority rights indicators so that all agencies, departments and country offices can draw on the best available practice.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- An analysis framework is used by the Special Adviser's office to identify threats to minority communities at an early stage. In addition to genocide-specific indicators, such as the demonization of minority communities and a history of genocide in the country, it includes indicators of broader significance to minorities, such as conflicts over land, power, security and expressions of group identity, such as language, religion and culture, and attacks on cultural and religious property and symbols.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- Additionally, while there has been added emphasis placed on the prevention of certain specific crimes, including genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, violent conflicts that do not fit those definitions may also warrant additional attention.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Accurate voters' registers are another important precondition for enabling the effective political participation of minorities. Voter registration must be implemented in a non-discriminatory way, taking into account the special needs of minorities as they may arise in the areas of language, cultural appropriateness and accessibility of registration processes.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- A range of legal and political mechanisms have been used around the world to increase the political participation of minorities at the local, regional and national levels in legislative, executive and administrative bodies. While minority representation is in itself important, consideration must also be given to the mechanisms needed to ensure that minority issues are addressed effectively in the governmental process.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- Political participation of minorities encompasses a broad range of decision- and policymaking processes and mechanisms in the legislative, executive, self-governance and traditional spheres. Moreover, participation takes place at the local, regional (i.e. subnational), national as well as international levels.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 27
- Paragraph text
- Equally, in those States that implement protection for minority rights, minorities are more likely to be recognized as equal rights-holders and afforded the full protection of the State from aggression and violence directed against them.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- The protection of minority rights and the prevention of violent conflicts are legitimate goals of independent value to be pursued by the international community. Both goals lie at the heart of the mandate of the United Nations, and States should pursue each one as a valid objective in its own right. However, the fact that these two concerns are so often linked to one another makes it appropriate to consider them together.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Consultative mechanisms can provide useful opportunities for minority participation as supplements when equal participation in elected bodies is insufficient because the minority community is too small to impact an election. Such consultative bodies can be ad hoc, set up to address a particular issue, or they can be formalized structures at the national, regional and local levels. They may be general, such as minority round tables, or related to specific matters, such as housing, land, education, language or culture. They may be part of the institutional structure of Government and there may be a legal requirement that they be consulted on particular matters. For such mechanisms to be effective, it is important that consultative bodies have a clear legal status, that the obligation to consult them is established in law and that their involvement in decision-making processes is of a regular, meaningful and permanent nature. Such bodies should be properly resourced and attention should be paid to the representativeness of their members, who should be chosen by the minority community through transparent procedures. It is important that the members appointed have the requisite qualifications to carry out the work and that they be truly representative, including of minority women. Finally, these structures must be commensurate with the needs of minority communities.
- Legal status
- Non-negotiated soft law
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph