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Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The adequate representation of minorities at all levels and in all branches of the criminal justice system can have particularly important implications for relations between disadvantaged communities and the Government. Negative encounters with police or security forces at the local level shape minority perceptions of their treatment and acceptance by the State. There may be a lack of understanding of issues facing a minority community or of sensitivities relevant to policing, especially in situations in which minorities experience wider societal discrimination. The policing of minority areas by exclusively majority police forces may inflame tensions and, under certain conditions, lead to the outbreak of violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 28
- Paragraph text
- Minorities are often the targets, rather than the perpetrators, of violence. When minority rights are violated, members of minorities may be at a greater risk of being subjected to systematic violence, even when they are bystanders to a conflict involving other parties. Such incidents can happen as a result of minorities' poverty and exclusion from political decision-making processes, or because their often remote communities, poorly served by State infrastructure, can become targets for occupation for strategic purposes or for exploitation of natural resources. Furthermore, owing to the suspicion and prejudice with which they are often viewed by both members of the majority and security forces, minorities may be targeted with impunity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role and activities of national institutional mechanisms in promoting and protecting minority rights 2012, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Collaborations among civil society groups, ethnic or religious bodies or associations and national or local authorities can provide valuable venues and opportunities for dialogue and understanding between communities and among authorities and minorities. In Marseille, France, "Marseille Hope" is an example of a positive initiative designed to create dialogue and help avert the tensions between faith groups that, once having emerged, can lead to violence. Jewish, Christian, Buddhist and Muslim leaders meet regularly with city authorities to share views and maintain positive relations among communities. Founded in 1989 in response to growing urban violence, it promotes inter-community understanding through activities, including interfaith symposiums.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The role and activities of national institutional mechanisms in promoting and protecting minority rights 2012, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- Developing internal minority rights expertise within such national institutions as the police and judiciary constitutes a positive practice, allowing such key protection and justice bodies to engage and consult more effectively with minority communities, ensure protection measures and respond appropriately to their issues, including incidents of violence. In the eleventh preambular paragraph of its resolution 66/144 of 22 March 2012, the General Assembly recognized that individuals belonging to vulnerable groups including minorities are the main victims of violence and of attacks perpetrated or incited by extremist political parties, movements and groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 23
- Paragraph text
- The independent expert is particularly concerned about the situation of religious minorities in all regions. Information received by the mandate of the independent expert and the work of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, as well as other thematic mandates, have revealed disturbing attacks and violence against members of religious minorities and their places of worship, affecting Buddhist, Christian, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslim, and other religious minorities in several regions. Such violent attacks have been documented in numerous countries and different regions and are not confined to any one region. Long-standing and new forms of anti-religious extremism and the use of the internet and social media to spread hate speech and encourage discrimination and violence must be condemned at the highest levels.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 76
- Paragraph text
- Sex- and minority-based discrimination in hiring, promotion and pay also create significant barriers for minority women. Increasingly informal labour markets - a result of globalization - have brought more women into paid work, but often with low pay, excluded from basic labour protection and employed under poor working conditions. This renders the conditions under which minority women - and all too often young girls - earn incomes that may be insecure, difficult, harmful or even dangerous. Their workload can be made heavier by the lack of such basic amenities as clean water and sanitation, the availability of child-care support and protection against domestic and social violence. Minority girls and women in difficult circumstances are often forced to find survival opportunities outside their communities and home, and can easily fall victim to trafficking, exploitation and illegal migration within or outside their own country, which makes them even more vulnerable.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 82
- Paragraph text
- Religious minorities often find themselves in conditions of structural vulnerability which can lead to a vicious circle that perpetuates discrimination, hostility, insecurity and violence. Oversight procedures over the security forces throughout the jurisdiction are required, particularly in border areas or areas with a larger religious minority presence. Training programmes need to ensure that State actors from the local level upwards are aware of the particular risks of insecurity faced by minorities. An essential step is to put in place adequate legislation to address both acts of violence and incitement to religious and ethnic hatred and violence and to ensure that they are fully enforced in practice with appropriate penalties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- The Independent Expert is convinced of the usefulness of the role of minority rights protection and dedicated minority rights mechanisms in the prevention of conflict and the promotion of social stability. This is also enshrined in the Preamble of the Declaration, which reads "the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities contribute to the political and social stability of States". States have an obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence against persons belonging to religious minorities, regardless of the perpetrator. Failure to do so often leads to repeated and more severe violations.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The Minority Rights Group International has documented the impact of conflict and instability on religious minorities in Iraq, including Muslim minorities, Baha'is, Christians, Armenians, Chaldo-Assyrians, Faili Kurds, Palestinians, Jews, Sabean Mandaeans, Turkmen, Yazidis and others. The Group states that minorities in Iraq have continued to be targeted on the grounds of their religion or ethnicity since the United States-led invasion and fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. They have suffered from killings, kidnappings, torture, harassment, forced conversions and the destruction of homes and property. Women have been subjected to rape and forced to wear hijab. Persecution, human rights violations and targeted attacks have led to vast numbers of internally displaced persons and a mass exodus of some religious communities to neighbouring countries where they continue to experience challenges as religious minorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 91f
- Paragraph text
- [The Independent Expert provides the following broad recommendations to national Governments and the international community:] The security situation of religious minorities in some States is cause for serious concern and requires the urgent attention of national Governments, regional intergovernmental human rights bodies and the United Nations. Acts of violence and widespread and systematic violations of human rights - sometimes by the State itself - threaten the very existence of religious minorities in some States or territories. States have the responsibility to protect human rights and security for all and to create conditions of peace and stability. They must act appropriately and rapidly to protect the rights and security of religious minorities under threat and prosecute anyone who commits, supports or incites violence against them;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 74
- Paragraph text
- Civil society has a vital role to play in detecting the early signs of impending violence, alerting national and international bodies and taking local initiatives to counter it. Violence prevention efforts should not be left only to non-governmental organizations, however. Effective prevention benefits greatly from the full participation of diverse actors, including non-governmental organizations, human rights institutions, businesses, faith groups and community leaders, educational institutions and other stakeholders. Preparing the infrastructure for and promoting a culture of violence prevention necessarily involves many actors with different skills, powers and relationships.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Regional organizations can have a significant role in preventing and responding to violence, including by engaging with States in a preventative, fact-finding or conflict-mediation capacity. Some regional organizations have practical tools dedicated to minority issues based on strong regional standards. The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities is devoted to conflict prevention and early warning of situations that pose a threat to minority communities. Strengthening the attention paid to minority issues by other regional bodies, including the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which currently lack dedicated mechanisms to monitor the situation of minorities, is vital to regional-based violence prevention initiatives.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 78
- Paragraph text
- The responsibility to protect is a concept of great significance in the protection of disadvantaged minorities from violence. The political will to prevent violence and protect vulnerable communities is an essential prerequisite. In some situations of violence, Governments lack the capacity to end it and must be assisted to do so; however, history demonstrates the central role that States have played in coordinating mass atrocities against minorities. The State, with its frequent domination by a single ethnic or religious group, control over security resources, national media, infrastructure and institutions, can be an efficient perpetrator of violence. Recent evidence also demonstrates that the State as perpetrator is not a matter of history but a modern-day reality.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- Governments can be active perpetrators, that is, directly involved in the commission of crimes by means of security forces or mercenaries, or passive perpetrators, when they do not act to protect a group that is subjected to atrocities by non-State actors. When Governments fail, the international community must take adequate steps to stop violence and crime and hold those responsible accountable. There must be a preference for peaceful means: international diplomacy, negotiation and mediation, along with humanitarian assistance. If given consent, a United Nations peacekeeping operation must strive to bring to an end the deliberate action or inaction of the Government, and obtain credible guarantees that the Government will assume and/or resume its responsibility to protect.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 2
- Paragraph text
- Minorities may experience violence owing to such factors as their numerical size; their non-dominant social, economic and political position; their distinct ethnicity, culture, religion or language; social stigma; and the suspicion and prejudice with which they are often viewed by the majority. Minorities are frequently poorly equipped to defend themselves and their rights and poorly protected against violence by government actors which may not include members of minorities. The legislative and institutional environments are frequently inadequate and do not provide legal and practical protection against attack or the possibility of redress and appropriate penalties.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- Violence against minorities throughout the world demonstrates that action is required in all regions to protect minorities at risk. In many cases violence is committed with impunity, which can fuel further violence. The present report seeks to identify some of the major causes of violence against minorities and to consider actions that should be taken by States and other actors to prevent and appropriately address violence and to ensure that it does not persist or escalate. The historical and ongoing cases of violence referred to are not exhaustive, yet they demonstrate the wide range of situations in which violence against minorities occurs in different regions and the extent to which challenges remain.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 4
- Paragraph text
- The Holocaust was one of the clearest examples of large-scale, mass atrocities committed against minority groups. Jewish communities, Roma and Sinti, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals and others fell victim to Nazi propaganda and systematic genocide. The Rwandan genocide is also a clear example of mass atrocities perpetrated against a minority and one where, despite warnings, the international community failed to act. Around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda determined that the killings constituted genocide. In 1995, the worst massacre of civilians in Europe since the Second World War took place in Srebrenica, where some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed by Bosnian Serb forces. The Secretary-General acknowledged the failure of the international community to prevent what was recognized as genocide (see A/54/549).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Many other incidents of targeted violence against minorities have been addressed in reports and statements by United Nations bodies and mechanisms. In 2002, Muslims in Gujarat, India, were targeted following a fire on a train in which 58 Hindus died. In the report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions who visited India in 2012, the Government acknowledged over 1,000 deaths in the ensuing communal violence (see A/HRC/23/47/Add.1 and Corr.1). The Special Rapporteur expressed concern over the slow progress of investigations while noting the elaboration of the Prevention of Communal and Targeted Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill in 2011.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- During her 2006 visit to Ethiopia, the former Independent Expert on minority issues was informed that, in December 2003, 424 ethnic Anuak had been killed in Gambella by members of other ethnic groups (A/HRC/4/9/Add.3). Contributing factors included the relocation to the region of highlanders, and a porous border with troubled Southern Sudan. Heavily armed Sudan People's Liberation Army fighters had entered the region and the influx of refugees resulted in conflicts and a breakdown of traditional land-sharing and conflict resolution arrangements. Despite warnings signs, authorities failed to avert the violence. Conflicts over land use continue in the region.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- In Colombia, which was visited by the former Independent Expert on minority issues in 2010, Afro-Colombians reported ongoing violence, selective murders, disappearances, threats and communities forced to flee, despite Government claims that the armed conflict had ended. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions found that indigenous and Afro-Colombian communities had been victimized by all parties to Colombia's conflicts and that, historically, paramilitaries, sometimes in collusion with State forces, had appropriated land and committed massacres to intimidate local populations (A/HRC/14/24/Add.2, para. 76). Resource exploitation, agriculture and mega-projects have created new motivations for violence.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The peoples under threat index of Minority Rights Group International is based on known antecedents to mass violence, including indicators of good governance, rule of law, prevailing conflict and previous mass killings. It was found that communities are more at risk in closed States that have poor governance, are prone to conflict and have a record of previous killing. In three quarters of recent conflicts, much of the killing has been targeted by ethnicity or religion. While ethnic diversity in a State is not positively correlated with risk of conflict, risks rise sharply when sociopolitical divisions in society fall along ethnic or religious lines.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 21
- Paragraph text
- After her visit to Nigeria in February 2014, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues noted that some of the tensions and conflicts that had erupted in Nigeria's northern states and states in the country's middle belt had been depicted as religious or ethnic conflicts. However, she found that, while the tensions and conflicts had obvious religious and ethnic dimensions, their root causes lay also with other factors, including poor governance, competition for or unequal allocation of resources, land issues, political manipulation of ethnic and religious issues, population movement and migration. She considered that, while enhancing the capacity, training and resources of the security forces in regions where violence had broken out was essential, sustainable solutions to communal violence must also address long-standing and contentious political, economic and social issues and inequalities that had in many cases been long neglected.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Hate speech in public spheres, in mainstream and social media and by influential figures, including religious leaders, public officials or political groups, can lead directly or indirectly to violence against minorities. Increasing levels of hate speech can be an important indicator of possible violence. Monitoring hate speech and incitement to violence offers the opportunity to be aware of and respond appropriately to specific security risks. The Rwandan genocide provides clear evidence of the power of hate speech to infect societies, motivating thousands to kill neighbours and former friends. Equally, in the Central African Republic, hate speech is recognized as playing a role in inflaming and fuelling violence and has been described by United Nations officials as a possible precursor to serious human rights violations, including potential genocide.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Studies are required to understand how hate speech transforms into acts of hate and violence. Hate speech is a factor in a process which seeks to scapegoat, demonize or, in extreme cases, dehumanize others considered outsiders or different, and to portray them as the cause of societal ills or as a threat. The power of hate speech to turn a nucleus of extremist hatred into a mass movement of violence is well documented and measures to counter its impact are essential. Several countries, including some that have experienced atrocities, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, have adopted legislation to prosecute hate-motivated crimes and incitement to national, racial or religious hatred. Countries such as Canada and the United States of America have created hate crime units within the police force.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The media can have an important role in fuelling and inciting violence. In Rwanda, media were used to both incite and orchestrate widespread violence against the Tutsi minority. Monitoring of media, conducted by independent media regulatory bodies preferably involving minorities, is important to violence prevention strategies. Such bodies can analyse, in the light of international human rights law relating to freedom of expression and prohibition of hate speech, elements and trends present in the media, including online media, which could constitute incitement to violence by means of hate speech. Media monitoring entities should be able to report their findings to relevant authorities in order to prompt an investigation and the initiation of criminal procedures against perpetrators, as appropriate.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Hate speech against Roma is widespread in the media and in public political discourse in many European countries. It dangerously labels the entire Roma population as criminal, aggressive or parasites on welfare systems. Roma rarely have access to mainstream media or public positions and seldom have the chance to challenge such stigmatization. The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights found that one in five Roma reported experiencing racist violence. A tragic manifestation of how hate speech can fuel and turn into hate crimes occurred in Hungary during the period 2008-2009, when brutal attacks against randomly chosen, innocent Roma took the lives of six of them, including a 4-year-old boy. During their trial, the suspects, who were subsequently imprisoned, referred to Gypsy criminality and other expressions used in mainstream media, which they believed justified their actions.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Other relevant factors which contribute to the outbreak of violence include past and unresolved grievances, a history of ethnic and/or religious tensions between groups without reconciliation, agitation of ethnic or religious components by political leaders, and impunity when perpetrators act without consequences. The Special Rapporteur has noted concern regarding the extent of violence against religious minorities, including in her report to the General Assembly in 2013 (A/68/268) in which she stated that acts of violence and widespread and systematic violations of human rights - sometimes by the State itself - threaten the very existence of religious minorities in some States or territories. The international community should pay particular attention to States in which violence has been targeted against certain population groups with impunity.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Caught between warring factions, minorities in Iraq have been the targets of violence for more than a decade. In 2014, the targeting of minorities has continued and intensified under the so-called Islamic State which took control of much of the country. The Special Rapporteur, along with another United Nations expert, issued a press release in July 2014, in which she expressed her grave concern about the physical safety of several minority groups in Iraq, including Christians, Shia, Shabaks, Turkmen and Yazidis, who were being persecuted on the grounds of their religion and ethnicity. She urged the Iraqi Government and the international community to do their utmost to protect vulnerable civilians and minorities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 31
- Paragraph text
- In some cases, violence or the threat of violence against certain stigmatized minority communities is common and almost socially accepted. Despite legislation in India (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, adopted in 1989) which bans caste-based discrimination, violence against Dalits remains widespread and their access to justice poor. In May 2013, the Special Rapporteur, along with other United Nations experts, noted that caste-based discrimination remained widespread and deeply rooted, that its victims faced violence, structural discrimination, marginalization and systematic exclusion and that the level of impunity was very high.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 34
- Paragraph text
- Political or regime change can create a new political and social order and conditions under which minorities may be placed at a heightened risk of violence. The Arab Spring in several countries, while initially hailed as a popular revolution against hard-line, autocratic regimes, in practice created new uncertainties for some minorities and, in some cases, increased hostility and violence against minorities, including minority Muslims and Christians. In September 2013, mandate holders addressed a communication to the Government of Egypt, concerning an upsurge of violence against Christian minorities by supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi in locations across Egypt. Some 61 churches had been attacked, vandalized and desecrated. Mobs had attacked Christian schools, businesses and homes, and deaths and injuries had been reported.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph