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Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- There are compelling arguments for giving greater attention to disadvantaged minorities in post-2015 development agenda and future development goals. Foremost amongst these is that globally minorities remain among the poorest and most socially and economically excluded and marginalized communities. Tens of millions of people belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities worldwide are trapped in a cycle of discrimination, exclusion, poverty and underdevelopment from which they cannot break free without targeted attention being given to their situations. The relationship between inequality, discrimination and poverty and its impact on disadvantaged minority groups cannot be ignored or underestimated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- As highlighted by the former Independent Expert, poverty within minority communities is both a cause and a manifestation of the diminished rights, opportunities and social advancement available to the members of minority communities. Their poverty involves more than just a lack of income or a daily struggle for basic sustenance and is frequently based on structural inequality and long-standing discrimination and social exclusion which defy "one-size-fits-all" solutions. Poor minority communities are less able to participate effectively in political decision-making. They suffer from unequal access to education, health care, employment and land. Minorities are more likely to lack citizenship and be stateless, often resulting in their total exclusion from development and human rights initiatives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 33
- Paragraph text
- In fact, as 2015 approaches, many persons belonging to minorities are at risk of backsliding in development and human rights terms. For example, the impact of the global financial crisis is most deeply felt by the poorest in society, including minorities, who may lack secure employment and face shrinking social welfare platforms. Recent or ongoing conflicts have had a devastating impact on minorities in numerous countries. Religious minorities are under threat in countries where conflict or political and social unrest has emerged, including the "Arab Spring" States, leading many to flee their homes or become refugees in neighbouring States.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- An emerging message underlying the consultations around the post 2015 development agendas has been "leave no one behind". This message is a welcome one that indicates a growing global awareness that inequality greatly hampers development progress for those affected. The Independent Expert considers that a real risk exists that millions of disadvantaged minorities globally will be "left behind" if there is not a clear commitment at the global and national levels to address the development needs and human rights of disadvantaged minorities. New development goals for the post-2015 period provide an important opportunity to refocus development agendas on inequality and put minority issues at the heart of these efforts.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 35
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- In many national situations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have not been achieved for disadvantaged minorities. A full analysis of experiences is still needed in order for lessons to be fully learned from the MDG experience. In some countries, positive examples have emerged where practices have been implemented and targeted strategies have produced positive results for minorities. However, a survey by the former Independent Expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, demonstrated that only a handful of countries devoted particular attention to minorities in their MDG reports, that, even where minorities are mentioned, there is a lack of discussion on how and, crucially, why minorities are experiencing disproportionately high levels of poverty and other serious inequalities, and that women belonging to minority groups remain particularly invisible (see A/HRC/4/9, para. 68).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- Deficiencies in the MDG framework have been highlighted by minority rights and development experts. A reliance on aggregate results and a continuing lack of disaggregated data collection resulted in very few measurements being made of the progress of minority groups towards the goals. Governments have tended to focus attention on populations that are easiest to reach and issues that were easiest and least costly to address. Minorities are often geographically and socially harder to reach and their issues include long-standing discrimination and social exclusion, which are more difficult to address. Strategies consequently often failed to target minorities and their particular challenges, even where the political will to address the issues of minorities existed.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Research suggests that minorities and indigenous peoples have progressed at a slower rate and even found gaps between them and other communities widening as others benefited from MDG interventions. An issues brief on promoting equality, including social equity, co-authored by UNICEF, UN-Women, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and OHCHR, stated: "The MDGs, in focusing largely on national averages, without addressing inequalities explicitly, may have led to perverse outcomes whereby already-marginalized groups have tended to be 'left until last', thus exacerbating existing inequalities."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- The Rio+20 outcome document highlights the fact that green economy policies in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication should "enhance the welfare of indigenous peoples and their communities, other local and traditional communities, and ethnic minorities, recognizing and supporting their identity, culture and interests and avoid endangering their cultural heritage, practices and traditional knowledge" (para. 58). It also stresses the need to ensure equal access to education for ethnic minorities and for an enabling environment for women and girls from ethnic minorities (paras. 229 and 238). The High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons, in its report, states: "We should ensure that no person - regardless of ethnicity, gender, geography, disability, race or other status - is denied universal human rights and basic economic opportunities. We should design goals that focus on reaching excluded groups".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 43
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- The United Nations system has increased its attention to minority issues. In 2012, the Secretary-General established the United Nations network on racial discrimination and the protection of minorities in Policy Committee decision No. 2012/4 of 6 March 2012. It aims to enhance dialogue and cooperation across the United Nations system. In the guidance note of the Secretary-General on racial discrimination and protection of minorities based on the network's work, it is stated that: "efforts to improve sustainable human development and promote inclusion and stability are complemented and strengthened with better attention to the situation of minorities … participation of persons belonging to minorities is essential in the process of developing the post 2015 development agenda, with a view to ensuring that the resulting agenda advances non-discrimination and other human rights concerns of minorities."
- 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
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 44
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- United Nations Country teams supported 88 countries to convene national consultations on the post 2015 development agenda and hold forums to exchange ideas for a shared vision of "The World We Want", in an open process tailored to country contexts. The national consultations made deliberate efforts to engage groups that generally do not participate in policy discussions. This global conversation responds to a growing call for active participation in the process and calls for the voices and issues of disadvantaged groups, including minorities, to be taken into account at every stage. Submissions to the Global Consultation on Addressing Inequalities were revealing and emphasized the extent to which globally ethnic and linguistic minorities face structural exclusion that limits integration into society.
- 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
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 46
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- Tackling inequality stands out among the consultation areas as a cross-cutting and essential goal that should be at the heart of international and national development agendas. To make progress on this goal for disadvantaged minority groups and others means to create conditions of substantive equality for minorities, the challenges to which are a major barrier to development and human rights that minorities experience. A requirement for States to address inequality means that they must act clearly and directly to address the social exclusion, economic marginalization, poverty and discrimination facing minority communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- A global-level commitment to tackle inequality and address the situation of disadvantaged minorities and indigenous peoples by the international community, the United Nations, the donor community and international financial institutions is essential to encourage and ensure State-level action. If such a global message is missing or weakly stated, States that have historically neglected, denied or violated the rights and development of marginalized minority groups will have little incentive to do otherwise. Conversely, a strong requirement to address inequality, clearly articulated in a new set of post 2015 development imperatives, will serve to mobilize State action, empower civil society and minority communities, and have the potential to ensure real change on the ground for some of the most impoverished and marginalized minority groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- While the increasing focus on "inequality" is welcome and vital, it is essential that this translates into far greater attention to minority issues in practice in every State. It is essential not only to address the challenges of "the poor", but to identify who are the poorest, where and why - to find the inequality where it is gravest. A deeper understanding of the inequalities which lie behind poverty, social exclusion and economic marginalization is necessary if nationally and internationally we are to overcome the barriers to development experienced by disadvantaged minorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Discussions on the post-2015 agenda must take into account evidence that indicates that a rapidly increasing proportion of the world's poor are minority groups. In many situations globally, in both developing and developed countries, poverty takes on ethnic, religious and linguistic dimensions. An honest assessment of why minority groups face more severe challenges reveals that discrimination and exclusion form a launching pad for a host of obstacles for minorities. At the national level, long-term success in poverty reduction and in reaching development targets for minorities requires an investment in tackling the root causes of inequality, as well as its symptoms.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- In core documents emerging from the consultations on the post 2015 agenda, there is little, if any, recognition that minorities experience multiple and intersectional challenges that create vulnerability across a range of areas under consideration. For example, a focus on rural/urban disparities fails to acknowledge that minorities are frequently rural and remote communities with poor access to services and basic needs. Consideration of household wealth disparities rarely makes the link between low income and belonging to a minority. It is often women from disadvantaged minorities who are most affected by poor access to education and decent employment and who suffer multiple discrimination as they are women, members of a minority and poor. When the maps of poverty, access to basic services, gender discrimination, poor housing and population groups are overlaid, minorities stand out as being the most in need. The nexus between minorities, poverty and inequality cannot be ignored.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 51
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- Minority groups have experienced increased levels of racism and xenophobia since the financial crisis began. The 2012 Annual Report of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance noted that: "The ongoing economic crisis has created a vicious cycle in which many of the groups of concern to ECRI (vulnerable groups) are trapped. Diminished economic opportunities and welfare cuts puts them into poverty, which breeds negative feelings on both sides of the social divide".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 52
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- Calls for inequality to be addressed more clearly are coming from a wide group of experts. On 21 May 2013 a group of 18 United Nations human rights mandate holders called for the post 2015 development agenda to be urgently refocused on equality, social protection and accountability. The statement highlighted that: The rise of inequality has severely undermined the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals … Future goals must be sensitive to who benefits and at whose expense, and must go beyond blunt, aggregate targets that allow us to pick the "low-hanging fruit" and ignore the most vulnerable groups, while leaving systemic injustices untouched … Making equality a cross-cutting priority would mean every new goal will confront head on the systemic injustices that drive inequalities, from institutional discrimination against minority groups to uneven investments in social services in different regions of a country.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- A major barrier in assessing and tackling disparities is the lack of data disaggregated by ethnicity, religion or language. Data is vitally important for effective poverty reduction and yet, within aid modalities on poverty, the collection of ethno-cultural disaggregated data is not uniformly supported. In 2005, UNDP published MDG Monitoring and Reporting: A Review of Good Practices, wherein it recommends that, "Whenever possible, disaggregated data should be used to highlight disparities across gender, ethnicity, geographical location, age or other dimensions of inequality". In a few countries where disaggregated data exist, these reflect clearly the inequalities between majority and minority groups. Equally, they provide essential baseline data upon which to base targeted interventions and monitor progress. Each of the countries mentioned below has, to some extent, recognized the challenges facing minorities revealed by such data and established programmes targeted towards them.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 54
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- In the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, disaggregated data reveal patterns of ethnic poverty. Around two fifths of people from ethnic minorities live in income poverty, twice the rate for whites. The highest income poverty rates (in percentages) are found among Bangladeshis (65), Pakistanis (55) and black Africans (45 ). At 25-30 per cent, the rate among Indians and black Caribbeans is lower but still much higher than the 20 per cent among white people. In Brazil, census data show that on average, white and Asian Brazilians earned twice as much as black or mixed-race Brazilians. Black Brazilians are much more likely to be poor. Of the 16.2 million people living in extreme poverty (approximately 8.5 per cent of the population), 70.8 per cent are black. The average wages for black and mixed-race Brazilians are 2.4 times lower than those earned by citizens of white and Asian origin.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 57
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- One criticism that must be addressed is that a focus on any population group or minority may be perceived of as unfair affirmative action or special measures that result in a neglect of other population groups who may also have very real issues and development challenges. However, this need not be the case. An approach which addresses the long-standing issues of disadvantaged minorities as a core priority does not assume or require neglect of other groups or essential areas of concern. It requires that such targeted attention is justified, monitored and time-bound to ensure that it does not become discriminatory. Disaggregated data is also essential in this regard and allows inequalities to be statistically demonstrated, and progress towards targets to be monitored and evaluated.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 59
- Paragraph text
- Education is a basic human right for all children, and yet in all regions there are minority children who do not enjoy that right or enjoy it to a much lesser extent than others. Often countries face serious problems in providing basic education for many children owing to factors including scarcity of resources, poverty and conflict. However the challenges and barriers to minority children are frequently based on and perpetuated by discrimination and social exclusion. Lack of access to education perpetuates a cycle of poverty that is often experienced most acutely by minority communities. Yet conversely, education provides a gateway to development and the full enjoyment of a wide array of human rights for minorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 61
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- As a result of factors including segregation, stigmatization, and high dropout rates among Roma, their attendance beyond primary school is dramatically lower than the average. In South-East Europe only 18 per cent of Roma attend secondary school, compared with 75 per cent of the population, and less than 1 per cent of Roma attend university. In many countries globally, education is only in the national or majority language leaving linguistic minorities disadvantaged. In Viet Nam and other South-East Asian countries, education is commonly only in the language of the majority putting minorities at a disadvantage in education.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- According to Paul Hunt, former Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (2002-2008): We live in a world of profound health inequalities, a world in which a person's health and the quality of care they receive is determined by their ethnicity, the language they speak or their religious and cultural beliefs. In almost every country in the world, minorities and indigenous peoples are among the poorest and most vulnerable groups, suffer greater ill-health and receive poorer quality of care than other segments of the population. They die younger, suffer from higher rates of disease and struggle more to access health services compared to the rest of the population. More often than not, this ill-health and poor healthcare is a symptom of poverty and discrimination.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 63
- Paragraph text
- Minorities frequently live in remote or inaccessible localities and often Government health-care facilities and provision do not reach there. In many countries, the health-care infrastructure, including hospitals or clinics, is simply not available in minority areas. In some cases, health-care provision comes at a cost relating to treatment and drugs that poor communities - often minority communities - cannot afford. The infrastructure to ensure safe drinking water and hygiene facilities may also not reach areas where minorities live. In some cases the provision of health care is also limited due to discrimination. New attention to minorities and strategies to address their health situations are urgently required. A greater understanding of their health needs is essential and requires research and data collection.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Economic exclusion is a cause, a manifestation and a consequence of discrimination against minorities. As was strongly emphasized at the World Conference against Racism in Durban in 2001, poverty can contribute to the persistence of racist attitudes and practices, which in turn generate more poverty, a situation coined as the "vicious cycle of poverty". Many minorities have historically been excluded from full and effective participation in economic life, both in the developed and developing world. Minorities face discrimination when they seek employment due to their colour, religion, language or names. Minorities are poorly represented even in public-sector employment, including where legislation bans discrimination in public and private sectors. They may face barriers in accessing credit or loans and may live in the poorest or remote regions that offer limited prospects for their economic development. Large-scale economic development projects or commercial activities carried out on the lands where minorities live frequently have negative impacts, including displacement, perpetuation of poverty and, in some cases, violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 66
- Paragraph text
- Several factors exacerbate the exclusion of minorities, including deteriorating economic conditions, ethnic tensions and rising discrimination. Unequal regional distribution of resources and services and a lack of basic infrastructure in regions where minorities live often have the effect of preventing them from fully exercising their economic and social rights. The past decade has brought new and unanticipated challenges, including the global food and economic crises that have been proven to have a greater impact on particular vulnerable groups and minorities. Failing to fully include and integrate minorities also means that States are missing out on economic developments and benefits that such inclusion brings. World Bank studies have shown how the inclusion of currently marginalized and excluded minorities in economic life would lead to increased GDP.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- According to the report of the United Nations System Task Team on the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda: "Deepening resilience among vulnerable populations and reducing risks of disasters and other shocks must be central to limiting the social and economic costs of disasters, in terms of death, hunger, malnutrition, displacement and forced migration." Equally, Claus H. Sorensen, Director-General of the European Commission Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection stated: Those who are most vulnerable and marginalised need primary attention when a disaster strikes, both because the impact of the disaster is likely to be higher on them than others, and because of the likelihood that they find themselves excluded from response and recovery efforts. By systematically addressing in each action the inclusion of those who are marginalised (in particular, persons affected by caste discrimination, minorities, as well as persons with disabilities, women, and the elderly), lives have been saved, the suffering of those in need has been alleviated, and their dignity protected.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- The Independent Expert provided a submission to the Global Consultation on Governance and the Post-2015 Framework held in South Africa in February 2013 in which she highlighted that minorities globally are poorly represented in all levels of government, decision-making bodies and public-sector employment. At the national level, political and administrative frameworks and public-sector structures with responsibilities for development are often staffed by and geared towards majority communities. Good and inclusive governance is essential to ensuring the rights of minorities. Inclusive governance, representative of minorities, ensures that their issues are not neglected and that policies and programmes are developed with their interests in mind. When minorities are excluded from decision-making and public bodies responsible for implementation of development initiatives, it is inevitable that strategies will neglect minorities or lack the specialist information about their situations and needs to ensure that projects are successful and sustainable.
- 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
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- The Independent Expert highlighted in her 2012 report to the General Assembly, the fact that efforts to ensure minority rights and equality frequently require States to implement positive measures and approaches, as required by the Declaration. Positive change for disadvantaged minorities can be facilitated by appropriate institutional attention given to minority rights and a policy and programme framework within which to address minority issues. Institutional attention for minority rights is the logical next step from legislation to concrete action for the protection and promotion of minority rights. A key recommendation is that States consider institutional attention for minority rights both as a good governance obligation, and as an essential component of their human rights, equality and non-discrimination commitments.
- 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
- 2014
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Population dynamics include trends and changes in population growth, migration, urbanization, population density and age structures, and are a core element of the consultations. However, consideration of this area of development rarely addresses inequalities and the dimensions of population associated with majority/minority relations. Trends towards urbanization, for example, are frequently least pronounced for minority populations resulting in growing rural/urban and majority/minority divides. Birth rates may decrease in increasingly affluent population groups but remain high amongst the poorest, often minority, communities, serving to perpetuate their poverty. In many countries, there are clear geographical boundaries between population groups and equally clear socioeconomic divides between population groups - commonly, minorities fall on the wrong side of such divides.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
Paragraph