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Development and people of African descent 2015, para. 67
- Paragraph text
- States should implement special measures to ensure people of African descent have access to necessary housing services, by involving communities of people of African descent as partners in housing project construction, rehabilitation and maintenance and taking measures to ensure legal security of tenure, availability of services, materials, facilities and infrastructure, affordability, habitability, accessibility, location and cultural adequacy, and prevent the forced eviction of people of African descent from their homes in both urban and rural contexts. The Working Group also urges States, in accordance with international human rights standards and their respective domestic legal frameworks, to resolve problems of ownership of ancestral lands, inhabited for generations by indigenous people and by people of African descent and illegally expropriated by colonial rulers.
- Body
- Working Group of experts on people of African descent
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Access to land and the right to food 2010, para. 40c
- Paragraph text
- [In order to respect the right to food, States should:] Respect the needs of special groups. States should implement the specific rights of indigenous peoples by demarcating their lands and territories and by providing them with specific protection. States should also protect access to fishing grounds, grazing grounds and water points for fisherfolk, herders and pastoralists, for whom the protection of commons is vital. The recognition of communal rights should extend beyond indigenous communities, at least to certain communities that entertain a similar relationship with the land, centred on the community rather than on the individual;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Food & Nutrition
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Corporate responsibility with respect to indigenous rights 2010, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The absence of clarity with respect to corporate responsibility, especially transnational corporate responsibility, in relation to indigenous rights is the source of numerous abuses worldwide. The implementation of corporate activities without taking account of those rights, as they are recognized under international rules, has given rise to highly negative impacts on the environment and the economic, social, cultural and spiritual life of indigenous peoples. Such irresponsible corporate activity, sometimes abetted or simply ignored by the Governments concerned, continues to engender serious social conflicts in areas where indigenous peoples live.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The need to harmonize activities affecting indigenous peoples within the United Nations system 2012, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- A wide range of institutions and processes exist within the United Nations system, which affect indigenous peoples and which have an important role to play in the promotion of their human rights. The activities of various agencies, funds, programmes and human rights bodies and mechanisms, in addition to the mechanisms with mandates specific to indigenous peoples (the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples), touch upon indigenous issues.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The role and activities of national institutional mechanisms in promoting and protecting minority rights 2012, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Institutional attention to minority issues is essential to changing the exclusionary practices and discriminatory perceptions about minority groups in wider society that may be institutionalized. Activities should therefore be focused not solely on minorities, but rather on all sectors of society. Coordinated institutional approaches should engage minorities, majority communities, and civil society as key stakeholders. Institutional measures should serve to mainstream minority issues within all relevant institutions and promote diversity and equality in all areas of public life.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The role and activities of national institutional mechanisms in promoting and protecting minority rights 2012, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The full and effective participation of minorities is fundamental to the realization of minority rights and a key objective of national institutional attention to minorities. Effective attention can be achieved only with the participation of minorities, both as staff and as partners in the work of institutions addressing minority issues. It should always be remembered that minorities are members of society and should have their full say on issues involving all aspects of society, and not only on those issues of particular minority concern. In cases where they do not have that say, institutional attention to minority rights and minority issues is a means of enhancing their participation in all aspects of the economic, social and political life and development of their countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 75
- Paragraph text
- Nevertheless, a reasonable degree of accommodation of smaller and lesser-used languages should be provided. Modalities to support small or dispersed linguistic communities must be considered and can include support for informal language classes within or outside the public education structures and ensuring consultation with cultural associations representing linguistic minorities to assess and respond to specific needs. Factors such as voluntary and forced migration, conflict, climate change, and the opening of borders, for example across the Europe Union member States, are creating ever more diverse ethnic and linguistic societies in which language rights and needs must be taken into account.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- While resources available to a State are a factor, Governments must nevertheless fulfil their obligations to the best of their ability for all linguistic minorities. Numerous cost-effective methods are available to fulfil language rights, including translation of key information, web-based resources targeted at minorities, and policies of promoting training of minorities and their recruitment at national and local levels in public institutions. The use of minority mediators is a positive practice utilized by some States to improve communication with minorities. It may also be appropriate to encourage and facilitate cross-border cooperation, for example where a linguistic minority has a neighbouring or kin State with a shared language tradition.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 77
- Paragraph text
- Minority languages are declining at a worrying rate in all regions. In some cases that decline reflects a process of language loss which is almost irreversible, due to factors such as globalization and processes of assimilation and cultural dilution. However, in many cases, the disappearance of minority languages is a failure of protection of the rights of minority communities who wish to maintain their languages, as well as a tragedy for a nation’s cultural and linguistic heritage and diversity. Long-term data collection and analysis helps to reveal the relative health of minority languages and the growth or decline of language use and is essential for the preservation of some threatened languages.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Minorities in the criminal justice system 2015, para. 100
- Paragraph text
- Conditions of detention or imprisonment, and the relevant staff, should reasonably accommodate the cultural, dietary, religious and linguistic characteristics of minority prisoners.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- Minorities remain among the poorest and the most socially and economically excluded and marginalized communities globally, yet targeted attention to their situations is lacking. The Special Rapporteur believes that the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, although it failed to include an explicit reference to minorities, provides important momentum for their inclusion in the actions to be undertaken for its implementation. She firmly believes that the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda can only be achieved by taking into consideration the situation of minorities, and calls on States to fulfil in practice the principle of leaving no one behind.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Women’s access to justice 2015, para. 64a
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee recommends that, in cooperation with non-State actors, States parties:] Take immediate steps, including capacity-building and training programmes on the Convention and women's rights, for justice system personnel, to ensure that religious, customary, indigenous and community justice systems harmonize their norms, procedures and practices with the human rights standards enshrined in the Convention and other international human rights instruments;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Prevention of racial discrimination in the administration and functioning of the criminal justice system 2004, para. 5e
- Paragraph text
- [Formulates the following recommendations addressed to States parties:] [States parties should pursue national strategies the objectives of which include the following:] To ensure respect for, and recognition of the traditional systems of justice of indigenous peoples, in conformity with international human rights law;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2004
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The right of indigenous peoples to development with culture and identity, the right of indigenous peoples to participation and the obligation of States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2010, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- It is all too apparent that a great deal remains to be done to see the objectives of the Declaration become a reality in the everyday lives of the indigenous peoples of the world. Today, the Declaration serves more as a reminder of how far there is to go in bringing justice and dignity to the lives of indigenous peoples than a reflection of what has actually been achieved on the ground.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The right of indigenous peoples to development with culture and identity, the right of indigenous peoples to participation and the obligation of States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2010, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- Implementation of the Declaration should be regarded as a political, moral and legal imperative without qualification, within the framework of the human rights objectives of the Charter of the United Nations. The significance of the Declaration is not to be diminished by assertions of its technical status as a resolution that in itself has a non-legally binding character.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Strengthening commitment to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and its implementation 2013, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur has promoted and enjoyed a notable level of cooperation with the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, other United Nations institutions, and regional human rights mechanisms. Greater efforts should be made, however, to systematize methods of cooperation, especially in regard to the flow of information on matters of mutual concern.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Climate change and migration 2012, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur recognizes that while no place will be protected from the impacts of climate change, already fragile environments are most vulnerable, including in particular, megadeltas, small island developing States, low-lying coastal zones, arid areas, polar regions, and places affected by sudden and extreme natural disasters. Particular groups living in these high-risk areas may thus be more affected than others, as will societies that are highly dependent on the environment for their subsistence needs. However, vulnerabilities may be exacerbated by political and social factors, with specific groups such as women, children, minority groups and indigenous peoples, often particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
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. 83
- Paragraph text
- Recalling that 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the independent expert urges all stakeholders, including United Nations Member States, civil society and minorities themselves to undertake efforts and initiatives to increase awareness of the Declaration amongst all people within their respective States and regions, and to actively promote its implementation and the full enjoyment of all human rights by persons belonging to minority communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The Independent Expert calls upon States Members of the United Nations to provide her with information relating to the national protection of linguistic minority rights and minority languages, including legislation, policy and practices. She particularly wishes to be informed of positive practices to protect and promote the rights of linguistic minorities. She encourages linguistic minorities and non-governmental organizations to provide her with information about their situations and challenges relating to minority-language use and their proposals for solutions to challenges.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 85
- Paragraph text
- The post-2015 framework of new goals should be based on human rights, including minority rights as established in the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and the principles of equality, non-discrimination and participation. A focus on disadvantaged minorities and specific minority groups, including Roma, people of African Descent, Dalits, and disadvantaged religious and linguistic minorities worldwide would potentially bring much needed development attention to millions of the most excluded and impoverished peoples globally.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The right of indigenous peoples to development with culture and identity, the right of indigenous peoples to participation and the obligation of States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2010, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, the Declaration builds upon fundamental human rights and principles, such as non-discrimination, self-determination and cultural integrity, which are incorporated into widely ratified human rights treaties. In addition, core principles of the Declaration can be seen to be generally accepted within international and State practice, and hence to that extent the Declaration reflects customary international law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 129
- Paragraph text
- States should conduct awareness-raising campaigns at the national and local levels, targeting both affected communities and the wider public to sensitize them against caste discrimination and analogous forms of such discrimination. These campaigns should inform the public about the various manifestations, legal prohibitions and penalties associated with caste discrimination, and victims should be informed of their rights and available means of legal recourse to bring to light caste-based discriminatory practices and obtain redress.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Rights of rural women 2016, para. 59c
- Paragraph text
- [States parties should ensure that legislation guarantees rural women's rights to land, water and other natural resources on an equal basis with men, irrespective of their civil and marital status or of a male guardian or guarantor, and that they have full legal capacity. They should ensure that indigenous women in rural areas have equal access with indigenous men to ownership and possession of and control over land, water, forests, fisheries, aquaculture and other resources that they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired, including by protecting them against discrimination and dispossession. In addition, States parties should:] Strengthen customary and statutory institutions and mechanisms for defending or protecting women's rights to land, water and other natural resources, including community paralegal services.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73a (i)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Establish a national legal framework recognizing gender equality in cultural and family life, in accordance with regional and international standards: (i) Recognize and enshrine, in their constitutions and laws, the right to equality, which should apply in all areas of life and have primacy over all religious, customary and indigenous laws, norms, codes and rules, with no possibility of exemption, waiver or circumvention;
- Body
- Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and practice
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
The right of indigenous peoples to development with culture and identity, the right of indigenous peoples to participation and the obligation of States to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2010, para. 73
- Paragraph text
- The second area of concern relates to development initiatives targeted specifically at reducing the disadvantages experienced by indigenous peoples and improving their social and economic well-being. These initiatives all too often fail to properly incorporate indigenous peoples in the design and delivery of the programmes in a way that advances their self-determination and their rights to maintain their distinct cultural identities, languages and connections with their traditional lands.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Corporate responsibility with respect to indigenous rights 2010, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- Independent of compensation measures, companies are bound by their duty to respect indigenous rights to establish mechanisms ensuring that indigenous peoples share the benefits generated by the activities in question. Benefit sharing responds in part to the concept of fair compensation for deprivation or limitation of the rights of the communities concerned, in particular their right of communal ownership of lands, territories and natural resources. Companies must ensure that benefit-sharing mechanisms genuinely fulfil that purpose, and that they are appropriate to the specific context of indigenous peoples.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Strengthening commitment to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and its implementation 2013, para. 88
- Paragraph text
- Debilitating to the Declaration are repeated assertions that the Declaration is non-binding, characterizations of the Declaration as granting privileges to indigenous peoples over others, and the position advanced by some States that the right to self-determination affirmed in the Declaration is different from self-determination in international law. These assertions and positions are each flawed, as explained by the Special Rapporteur (paras. 61-78); they only serve to weaken the force of the broad consensus underlying the Declaration and of its role as an instrument of human rights and restorative justice.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 83
- Paragraph text
- Engaging in partnerships with indigenous peoples to define strategies to progressively achieve their economic, social and cultural rights is not only a duty of States under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, it is also an invaluable contribution to strengthening the diversity of sustainable livelihood systems and economies that include both market, non-market and other approaches for a more equitable and sustainable sharing of wealth and resources.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 69
- Paragraph text
- Full recognition of indigenous land rights and participation are key enabling conditions for conservation to be sustained. The Durban Action Plan which states that all existing and future protected areas shall be managed and established in full compliance with the rights of indigenous peoples and the Sydney Vision which promised that there should be redress and remedy for past and continuing injustices in accord with international agreements are powerful commitments of the conservation community. The Special Rapporteur believes that the effective implementation of these commitments can operationalize the human rights-based conservation paradigm.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph
Analysis of the impacts of international investment agreements on the rights of indigenous peoples 2016, para. 96d
- Paragraph text
- Investment dispute settlement bodies addressing cases having an impact on indigenous peoples' rights should promote the convergence of human rights and international investment agreements by: (d) Ensuring that applicable law includes all international human rights law treaties ratified by either State party, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as an interpretative guide for their application to indigenous peoples;
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Paragraph type
- Conclusion / Recommendation
Paragraph