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Title | Date added | Template | Original document | Paragraph text | Body | Document type | Thematics | Topic(s) | Person(s) affected | Year |
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Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 53 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Minorities might be disproportionately affected by conflict over their lands or natural resources. For example, in Nigeria, the Special Rapporteur observed that competition for land between nomadic pastoralists and local farmers was a major conflict-generating issue in both Kaduna and Plateau States, which have often been portrayed as interreligious conflicts (see A/HRC/28/64/Add.2 para. 30). | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 45 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The United Nations Development Group organized a set of eleven thematic consultations, on the themes of: conflict and fragility; education; environmental sustainability; governance; growth and employment; health; hunger, food and nutrition; inequalities; population dynamics; energy; and water. A report and preliminary findings were launched in March 2013. The following sections provide a brief discussion of minority issues in the context of each of these thematic areas. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 79 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Reflecting on the experience of regional intergovermental organizations, including OSCE, the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, established in 2003 to consider how the United Nations should address newly arising security, environmental and developmental challenges, recommended that the United Nations build on the experience of regional organizations in developing frameworks for minority rights (A/59/565, para. 94). | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2010 | ||
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 77 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Reflecting on the experience of regional inter-governmental organizations, including the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, established in 2003 to consider how the United Nations should address newly arising security, environmental and developmental challenges, recommended that the United Nations build on the experience of regional organizations in developing frameworks for minority rights (A/59/565, para. 94). | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 81 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | There are numerous examples from around the globe of where minorities have been particularly affected by natural disasters. In 2014, floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina had a disproportionate impact on particular Roma communities. In 2005, Muslims in the south, south east and the east coast of Sri Lanka were the worst affected by the tsunami that hit the country. China, for example, is one of the countries with the highest occurrence of disasters, which disproportionately affect rural areas of the country where ethnic minorities reside. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 29 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | It should also be noted that a range of external factors, such as climate change, unplanned urbanization, and underdevelopment/poverty can aggravate the frequency, complexity and severity of crises and their impact on populations, and in particular minority communities. Although beyond the scope of this report, the Special Rapporteur is also interested in how such aspects may impact upon minority communities, who may find themselves particularly susceptible to the negative influence of these factors, owing to their already existing situation of marginalization. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 40 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In Cameroon, visited by the Special Rapporteur in September 2013, an estimated 300 Mbororo pastoralists were made homeless and evicted from their ancestral lands in early April 2014 in the locality of Bamenda, when the Catholic University claimed ownership of their land for the construction of a University building. The Special Rapporteurs on minority issues and on the rights of indigenous peoples urged the authorities and the Catholic University to review their actions and their impact on this community and to seek a settlement. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 84 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Another interesting example of good practice is the fact-finding mission organized by the Peace and Security Council of the African Union to Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to look into the situation of the migratory pastoralist Mbororo community. The Mbororo have been spreading in migrating waves across the countries in question over thousands of years. The mission was triggered by the increasing occurrence of conflict between the Mbororo and local settled agriculturalist communities with whom they entered into contact. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2010 | ||
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 28 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Technological or man-made disasters are events that are caused by humans and occur in or close to human settlements. This can include environmental degradation, pollution and accidents and can similarly cause calamitous disruptions to societies and communities. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 92 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Evidence indicates that communities in lower positions in caste and analogous systems are more vulnerable and more likely to be exposed to natural and human-made disasters and hazards than those from higher castes, for several reasons. For example, their marginalized socioeconomic status may translate into a lack of or limited access to amenities and information. The location and infrastructure of their homes, usually in remote and marginal lands such as floodplains, coastal towns and unstable hillsides, on the periphery of settlements and poorly equipped in terms of basic amenities such as drains, flood barriers and drinking water, may also increase their vulnerability to natural disasters. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 98 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The current global humanitarian context is alarming. Ongoing and protracted conflicts are leading to massive displacement crises: there are unprecedented numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons, and inter-ethnic and interracial tensions and conflict are erupting in nearly every region of the world. Many conflicts threaten to further deteriorate, and new conflicts are emerging. These conflicts are often rooted in power struggles, identity politics, competition for resources, rising income disparities and socioeconomic inequalities, and increasing polarization of societies, making national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities particularly vulnerable; indeed many of the persons who flee their countries for fear of persecution are members of minority groups targeted precisely because of their minority identity. Furthermore, with the impact of climate change, disasters are becoming all too frequent and widespread, further affecting minorities. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 92 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Finally, while internal displacements due to disasters have traditionally been for short periods, their increased frequency and severity, including owing to climate change, point to more chronic situations likely to involve new, more prolonged or definitive displacements - and requiring more comprehensive displacement responses, in particular taking into account the needs of minorities. Moreover, recurrent disasters, such as more frequent flooding for example, can significantly impact the resilience of the people living in disaster-prone areas, including owing to destruction of livelihoods and destruction of homes and basic infrastructure. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 80 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The reasons for the differentiated experience of minorities in the context of disasters are multiple. In terms of increased vulnerabilities, the Special Rapporteur notes that this may be due to the fact that disadvantaged minorities may reside in remote and marginal areas that are more susceptible to disasters, or have fewer resources to evacuate easily. For example, the location of minority homes and settlements may be on the periphery of more established neighbourhoods in areas more susceptible to disasters such as floodplains, coastal towns, and unstable hillsides, or more closely situated next to landfills or other undesirable sites that may be potential locations of man-made disasters. Marginalized minorities may also reside in slum areas or shantytowns, or more remote regions which often are lacking basic infrastructure, and may therefore be particularly at risk during disasters (see A/HRC/31/56, para. 92). | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2016 | ||
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 27 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Special Rapporteur also includes disasters in her report, whether natural or man-made (see section H below). Defined as calamitous events that seriously disrupt the functioning of a community or society, disasters cause human, material and economic or environmental losses that exceed the community's or society's ability to cope using its own resources. These can be a result of spontaneous natural hazards, such as hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and wildfires, or be a result of more frequent slow-onset and mega disasters such as recurring droughts or floods. Disasters can result in the devastation of communities, loss of lives, leading to displacement, or migration, and can also lead to more complex emergencies such as loss of livelihoods, famine, housing crises and medical pandemics, which can also lead to mass displacement. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
| 2016 | |||
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 76 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | A 2012 regional Roma survey, revealed that between 70 and 90 per cent of Roma surveyed reported living in conditions of severe material deprivation. Roma settlements frequently lack energy provision, sometimes because they are classified as illegal settlements and do not fall within energy and infrastructure plans. Communities in Bulgaria, visited by the mandate holder in 2011, described paying more for energy from private providers and being unable to afford energy bills owing to lack of employment and low incomes. Key questions must be asked at the national level, which include: who are those most affected by lack of access to affordable energy? | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
| 2014 | |||
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 75 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Access to affordable energy is essential for development and yet minority communities are frequently disproportionately affected by "energy poverty" that impacts on all areas of their lives and restricts their opportunities and development. Minority communities often live in remote or poor rural areas that are poorly served by energy infrastructure. Indeed minorities may also be negatively affected by energy-generating projects which take place in the areas in which they live, but from which they do not fully benefit. A lack of affordable energy impacts on communities in a host of ways: restricting their ability to reform and increase agricultural production; impacting on the ability to undertake entrepreneurial activities; and creating difficulties in providing electricity to enable children to study and clean, healthy options for cooking. The objective of achieving affordable, sustainable energy for all is therefore particularly relevant for minority communities. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 72 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In South Asia, experiences from the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, the 2004 Asian Tsunami and flooding in Nepal in 2008, the Indian States of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam during 2007-2009, and Pakistan in 2010, demonstrated that Dalits are frequently the worst affected and also often "systematically excluded from relief and recovery efforts". The impact of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath on African-American communities was well documented as were deficiencies in the relief and reconstruction efforts. Minorities may be more vulnerable to natural disaster due to the location of their homes in marginal locations, vulnerable occupations, and poor-quality housing. The environmental impact of development mega-projects often has a disproportionate impact on minorities, as demonstrated by the impact of aggro-business projects on Afro-Colombian minorities and their lands and indigenous minorities in the Gambella region of Ethiopa displaced from their lands, as well as the impact on Pygmy communities of the Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline in Cameroon - a few of many examples. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 67 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Directly linked to health concerns, minorities are frequently in a vulnerable situation in regard to hunger, food security and nutrition. High levels of poverty and extreme poverty, lack of access to employment or secure forms of income, land or land tenure all impact on their food security. In India, for example, child malnutrition is some 14-20 per cent higher for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and has been declining at a slower rate than for the rest of the populations over the period of the MDGs. In country visits by the mandate holders to Rwanda (2011) and Cameroon (2013), food security and nutrition was a major concern of Batwa and Pygmy communities, many of whom are displaced from traditional forest habitats and can no longer maintain their hunter/gather lifestyles and access forest-based food sources. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post- 2015 development agendas 2014, para. 58 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | Addressing inequality is an overarching goal that, if it is achieved, will inevitably bring with it benefits for disadvantaged minority groups across a wide range of other areas that the post-2015 development agenda consultations are addressing. The rationale behind such an inequalities-based approach is strong, however it must be driven at a global and donor level to overcome barriers of discrimination, power-dynamics, and lack of political will that are often evident at the national level. In the Synthesis Report of the Global Thematic Public Consultation on the Post-2015 Development Agenda focusing on inequalities, it is stated that "there is considerable evidence that inequalities in one structural domain increase the likelihood of inequalities in others. In the event of opportunity for improvements in one domain, the chances of progress are often undermined or rendered inaccessible by simultaneous intersecting disadvantage in another. These intersecting and mutually reinforcing inequalities are often rooted in historical relationships, and continue to be reproduced through discrimination in social, economic, environmental and political domains." | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
| 2014 | |||
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 89 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | In Colombia, the Office of the Ombudsman created an early warning and risk assessment system (Sistema de Alerta Temprana) to protect Afro-Colombian communities under threat. Under the system, community advocates deployed to areas in which the presence of authorities is weak identify and report on credible threats. Their alerts are assessed by security forces and civil institutions which determine if protection measures, including a military presence, bodyguards and relocations, are required. One of the concerns expressed is that not all threats are taken seriously and that some measures are imposed without full consultation. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Preventing and addressing violence and atrocities against minorities 2014, para. 39 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The responsibility of Governments for the protection of human rights and prevention of violence extends to regulating the activities of non-State actors. Enterprises and business actors have been involved in violence affecting minorities, for example, against minority groups which occupy lands or territories that are of value for agricultural development, natural resource exploitation or national development projects. Minorities have often found themselves the victims of intimidation and violence by actors wishing to take control of those lands and resources. In some cases, national and/or international businesses instigate violence against minority communities with the complicity or agreement of the Government: for example, to gain access to the land or resources located where minority communities live. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2014 | ||
Rights of linguistic minorities 2013, para. 40 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | More than 3,000 languages are reportedly spoken by fewer than 10,000 people each. Some smaller minority communities with distinct languages are considered to be in danger of disappearing completely as distinct linguistic groups due to such factors as resettlement, displacement, conflict, assimilation, cultural dilution, environmental factors and loss of land. While over 20 languages are spoken in Cambodia, UNESCO has warned that 19 Cambodian languages are at risk of extinction over the coming decades. These are not isolated examples, and further research is required globally to enable effective policy responses to protect the existence of linguistic minorities and preserve their language, cultures and traditions for future generations. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2013 | ||
The role of minority rights protection in promoting stability and conflict prevention 2011, para. 63 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | A frequent source of conflict worldwide is discrimination and inequality in relation to land and property. For minority communities, often located in remote rural areas, the land and territories on which they live are a source of food security and income generation as well as being vital to the preservation of minority cultures, traditions and collective identity. However, some minorities find that their rights to own, occupy and use land are limited or violated and they may find themselves displaced or evicted, in some cases to make way for national economic development schemes, the activities of multinational corporations or for natural resources development. Land and property issues should consequently be given close attention in respect of conflict prevention. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2011 | ||
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 85 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | The Peace and Security Council mission recommended a meeting of regional Governments, representatives of the Mbororo and local affected communities, to develop a strategy that would help reduce tension in the most sensitive areas, to consider the delimitation of livestock corridors to be used by pastoralists and to discuss national projects to improve Mbororo integration in the national health and education systems, taking into account their lifestyle (mobile schools and health structures). As ever, the challenge remains the implementation of such recommendations, particularly in countries where resources are at a premium. There is a need for continued, sustained dialogue between Governments and communities concerned and an emphasis on follow-up on the recommendations of such fact-finding missions, ideally with the support of international humanitarian agencies. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2010 | ||
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 61 | Aug 19, 2019 | Paragraph | A frequent source of conflict worldwide is discrimination and inequality in relation to land and property. For minority communities, often located in remote rural areas, the land and territories on which they live are a source of food security and income generation as well as being vital to the preservation of minority cultures, traditions and collective identity. However, some minorities find that their rights to own, occupy and use land are limited or violated and they may find themselves displaced or evicted, in some cases to make way for national economic development schemes, the activities of multinational corporations or for natural resources development. Land and property issues should consequently be given close attention in respect of conflict prevention. | Special Rapporteur on minority issues | Special Procedures' report |
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| 2010 |
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