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Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Equally, efforts must be made to give voice to the diversity of members within minority communities, including women, youth and the elderly, and to interest groups such as returning internally displaced persons. The participation of civil society in debates over models for inclusion is essential.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The human rights situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism 2015, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur observes that there are often underlying attitudes that contribute to the lack of focus on empowerment of Roma communities and organizations. They can be outright discriminatory attitudes, such as when decision-making authorities adopt the paternalistic attitude that they are better equipped to make decisions on behalf of Roma. However, there are also more subtle forms of bias, including the tendency to focus on Roma as passive victims of discrimination, which may have the effect of perpetuating erroneous assumptions about their inability to contribute to society. This in turn hampers the shift from a perception of Roma as primarily passive victims of discrimination to an acknowledgment of their role as active agents of transformation who can participate in policy decisions that affect them. The Special Rapporteur notes that effective, meaningful participation must be a transformative process that becomes an inclusive experience, facilitating Roma involvement, empowerment and active citizenship. Such a participatory approach must also guarantee that those whose voices are rarely heard are empowered, including Roma women and young people.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Priorities for the work of the Independent Expert and the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities 2012, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- The issues and concerns of minority women frequently receive a lower priority than the efforts made to ensure minority rights for the group in general. Women belonging to minority groups often struggle within their communities to advocate for their rights, which can be set aside as a result of the prioritization of the general concerns of the group. Barriers to the empowerment of some minority women, including lack of social or economic contact, networks or minority women's support groups, and scarcity of female minority role models have an important impact on the enjoyment by minority women and girls of their human rights. Minority women may hesitate to voice their gender-specific grievances even within their groups, let alone outside them. Minority women's rights could also benefit from increased attention by the broader movement for women's rights. In turn, the women's rights movement would also benefit from the specific experiences of minority women in their overall struggle for equality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Owing to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, specific challenges face minority women and girls affected by humanitarian crises. According to the General Recommendation on women in conflict prevention, conflict and post-conflict situations of the Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (see CEDAW/C/GC/30, para. 36), during and after conflict specific groups of women, including, inter alia, internally displaced and refugee women, women of diverse caste, ethnic, national or religious identities, or of other minorities, are at a particular risk of violence, especially sexual violence. These groups of women "are often attacked as symbolic representatives of their community". The Committee has further noted that stateless women and girls face heightened risk of abuse during conflict, owing to, among other factors, their minority status (ibid, para. 60). Minority women may be particularly at risk of sexual and gender-based violence and other forms of violence, including slavery and trafficking. The Special Rapporteur was deeply troubled and saddened when she listened to the testimonies of Yezidi women in Iraq of sexual and gender-based violence committed against them by Daesh, which acts must be fully investigated and their perpetrators prosecuted.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Women in lower castes present the worst health outcomes. For instance, a study in India demonstrated stark disparities between Dalit and non-Dalit women in terms of life expectancy and access to prenatal and postnatal care.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- In 2009, a survey by the Ministry of Health in Nepal found that the maternal mortality rates for Dalit women and women from the Therai and Madhesi castes were significantly higher than those for women from higher castes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- Women from disadvantaged caste groups are also the main victims of trafficking, and are especially vulnerable to early and/or forced marriage, bonded labour and harmful cultural practices. Accusations of witchcraft are sometimes made to deprive Dalit women of their basic economic and social rights, including access to land and their assets.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- Available data indicate that caste-based violence against women and girls, in particular sexual violence, may be increasing. Violence and the threat of violence are frequently hidden and go unreported in villages and rural areas, forming a culture of invisibility, silence and impunity which, in many instances, places the burden of shame on victims instead of perpetrators.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The mandate of the Special Rapporteur thus complements and enhances the work of the Forum, and the Special Rapporteur has fostered the complementary and mutual reinforcement of both mechanisms throughout her tenure. She has guided a total of six sessions of the Forum on the following themes: "Guaranteeing the rights of minority women" (2011), "Implementing the United Nations declaration on minority rights: identifying positive practices and opportunities" (2012), "Guaranteeing the rights of religious minorities" (2013), "Preventing and addressing violence and atrocity crimes targeted against minorities" (2014), "Minorities in the criminal justice system" (2015) and "Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises" (2016). Since 2013, the Special Rapporteur has devoted her annual thematic report to the General Assembly to the same topic as the Forum session, as a means to contribute to and inform the discussions within the Forum. The Special Rapporteur notes that the themes she selected for the annual sessions focused on areas that had emerged as particularly concerning or problematic for minorities and where they believed that minority rights should be better applied and mainstreamed. She believes that the Forum makes a vital contribution to deepening international understanding on these important and topical areas as well as to international standard and norm setting.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur dedicated the first Forum on Minority Issues under her leadership, the fourth session, to the topic "Guaranteeing the rights of minority women". The Forum participants recognized that it was particularly important that the voices and views of minority women be heard and that they be consulted and have the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of life, both within their communities and in the wider society. Barriers to the empowerment of some minority women, including lack of social or economic contacts, networks or minority women's support groups, and scarcity of female minority role models had an important impact on the enjoyment by minority women and girls of their human rights. The Forum considered specific thematic areas in detail, for example, the access of minority women and girls to education; their ability to take part effectively in economic life and to have access to labour markets; and issues relating to their participation in social, cultural and political life. It recommended that Governments should seek and encourage opportunities for women's participation and work together with minority communities as well as minority and women's rights organizations to develop and implement programmes to sensitize minority women about their rights, and men about minority women's rights. All the relevant documents, including statements, the final recommendations and the summary report, are available on the Forum's website.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- They are often the victims of caste-based violence, particularly sexual violence. A study identified 12 major forms of violence against Dalit women: nine in the community (physical assault, verbal abuse, sexual harassment and assault, rape, sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, kidnapping or abduction, forced incarceration and medical negligence), and three within the family (female feticide and infanticide, child sexual abuse and domestic violence).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- Dalit women face obstacles in accessing formal justice systems. These include the refusal by police officers to register criminal complaints or delays in filing complaints, lack of proper investigation into complaints of violence and ill-treatment, and insensitivity by law enforcement officials.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 99
- Paragraph text
- Atrocities against women from marginalized castes are often committed when they try to assert their rights and challenge caste and gender norms. Perpetrators include dominant caste landlords, police officers, doctors and teachers, with the "punishment" both being expressive of caste outrage and intended to teach the woman and her community a lesson.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Caste is one of the factors that result in multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against certain groups of women. Women and girls from low castes are particularly vulnerable to violation and denial of their rights in both public and private life.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Core international human rights treaties build upon the principle of the inherent dignity and equality of all persons, which is recalled in their respective preambles, and enshrine the rights to equality and non-discrimination of all persons, as well as the equal enjoyment of human rights for men and women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Minority women, many of them from low-caste backgrounds, may be subjected to kidnapping and forced religious conversion. According to the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of religion or belief, "such incidents seem to occur in a climate of impunity". Civil society organizations have reported several cases of Dalit Hindu girls being kidnapped and forcibly converted to Islam following marriage in Pakistan.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Caste-based discrimination on the grounds of religion has a particular impact on women and girls. The existence of practices labelled as "religious dedication" of girls to temple deities, including the Devadasi system, constitutes a de facto form of forced prostitution and sexual slavery, mainly targeting Dalit girls.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 72
- Paragraph text
- In India, manual scavenging constitutes a caste-designated occupation that is mainly imposed upon Dalits, particularly Dalit women, who represent 95 per cent of manual scavengers. Despite the passing of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act in 2013, the practice reportedly persists, institutionalized through State practice, with local governments and municipalities employing manual scavengers.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities in the criminal justice system 2015, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- International standards recognize that proactive measures designed to protect and promote the rights of prisoners with special needs are required. As recognized by the Luanda Guidelines on the Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pretrial Detention in Africa, this requirement should be understood to include vulnerable minorities. Such measures, including special programmes for minority women and children in custody, should be developed in consultation with the affected prisoners and minority communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The role and activities of national institutional mechanisms in promoting and protecting minority rights 2012, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- Institutions or departments working on women's issues should establish specialist units or focal points for minority women and girls so as to ensure adequate attention to their issues and should recruit minority women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Additionally, women and men members of minorities may be targeted by armed actors in different ways, increasing the forms of violence in the society in general. For example, women are targeted by sexual violence, while men are forcibly recruited into militias. The rape of women, for example, may be intended to humiliate men and demonstrate their inability to protect "their" women.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The role and activities of national institutional mechanisms in promoting and protecting minority rights 2012, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- Governmental and independent national human rights institutions should lead by example and ensure that their governing bodies and staff, including at senior levels, reflect the diversity within society, and ensure as well the representation of minority women. Diversity in public and private sectors should be promoted and monitored.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The Secretary-General has stated that respecting the rights of children, of women, and of all minorities is at the core of the Charter of the United Nations; it is both a moral obligation and an economic imperative. Discrimination and injustice threaten the goals for peace, security and sustainable development. Preserving minority languages and nurturing ethnic cultures and traditions lays the foundations for lasting stability.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 89
- Paragraph text
- Where there are historical patterns of exclusion of members of minorities from employment, business and education opportunities, States should implement capacity-building programmes and other affirmative action measures to enable members of minorities, including minority women, to compete on an equal footing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 97
- Paragraph text
- Where there are historical patterns of exclusion of members of minorities from employment, business and education opportunities, States should implement capacity-building programmes and other affirmative action measures to enable members of minorities, including minority women, to compete on an equal footing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
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.
- 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
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Women from caste-affected communities, particularly in rural areas, are often excluded from political processes and relegated to secondary or subordinate roles in decision-making. It is reported that rural Dalit women holding seats in the local panchayat (town assembly) have been forced to stay at home and be represented by their husbands at meetings. Those who have attempted to speak in the panchayat have been subjected to backlash, and even violence, against members of their caste.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Gender
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 44
- Paragraph text
- This principle has been articulated in several legal instruments which allow for the adoption of special measures. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination permits the implementation of special measures "for the sole purpose of securing adequate advancement of certain racial or ethnic groups or individuals requiring such protection as may be necessary in order to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms" (art. 1, para. 4). The Convention goes on (art. 2, para. 2) to refer to special and concrete measures taken by States parties in the social, economic, cultural and other fields, the purpose of which is to guarantee the full and equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women also allows for "temporary special measures" which accelerate the de facto equality between men and women (art. 4, para. 1). At the regional level, the same approach is taken in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which allows States parties to "adopt, where necessary, adequate measures in order to promote, in all areas of economic, social, political and cultural life, full and effective equality between persons belonging to a national minority and those belonging to the majority" (art. 4, para. 2). Special measures do not constitute discrimination and therefore should not be considered such.
- 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
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- In conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guatemala, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Somalia, Sri Lanka and the Sudan, minority women have suffered systematic sexual and other violence. Violence against minority women does not always take place in the context of conflict. Women affected by caste-based discrimination in several countries experience high levels of violence owing to their low caste status and gender, and face killing, rape, gang rape and custodial torture.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
Paragraph
Minorities and effective political participation: a survey of law and national practices 2010, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, all forms of racial discrimination are explicitly prohibited and equality in the enjoyment of political rights is guaranteed by the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (art. 5). The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women creates an obligation on States to take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in the political and public life of the country (art. 7).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Person(s) affected
- Women
- Year
- 2010
- Date modified
- Feb 14, 2020
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