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Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur calls upon States to review their respective domestic legislation to ensure that it is fully in line with the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. She recalls the four pillars of minority rights protection that should be reflected in those laws: (a) the protection of a minority's survival by combating violence against its members and preventing genocide; (b) the protection and promotion of the cultural identity of minority groups, and their right to enjoy their collective identity and to reject forced assimilation; (c) the guarantee of the rights to non-discrimination and equality, including ending structural or systemic discrimination and the promotion of affirmative action, when required; (d) the right to effective participation of minorities in public life and in decisions that affect them. The Special Rapporteur wishes to stress that merely having non-discrimination clauses, according to which all members of the society are to be treated equally, without the aforementioned additional guarantees have often proven insufficient for effective protection of disadvantaged minorities.
- 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
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples on the impact of international investment and free trade on the human rights of indigenous peoples 2015, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- As discussed above, indigenous peoples are not included in the negotiations and drafting of free trade agreements. However, the provisions of those agreements bind their self-governance arrangements and the use of their lands, territories and resources. For example, the United States model bilateral investment treaty is strictly binding on all levels of government, including political subdivisions and other entities that exercise regulatory, administrative or other governmental authority delegated by the national Government. Not having the ability to contribute to the drafting of powerful legal agreements that affect them is a violation of indigenous peoples' right to self-determination, as provided for in article 3 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the right to development. Article 32, paragraph 1, of the Declaration says that "indigenous peoples have the right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands or territories".
- 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
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- When looking at available socioeconomic data disaggregated by ethnicity and gender, there is no doubt that indigenous women experience particular and interrelated forms of discrimination because of their indigenous identity and their gender. Gender-based discrimination is a sad reality in most countries, and it is also found within some indigenous societies where, for example, women may not traditionally have participated in governance institutions or where girls are not encouraged to study. In short, many indigenous women still face additional gender-based discrimination, which leads to disadvantages, marginalization and, in extreme cases, to violence, physical mutilation, trafficking, prostitution and restricted access to justice. On the other hand, there is ample documentation of the strong and crucial roles played by indigenous women in many areas of life, including food production, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, transmission of languages, culture and knowledge, conflict resolution and peacekeeping.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Extractive industries and indigenous peoples 2013, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur observes that in a number of cases States have asserted the power to expropriate indigenous property interests in land or surface resources in order to have or permit access to the subsurface resources to which the State claims ownership. Such an expropriation being a limitation of indigenous property rights, even if just compensation is provided, a threshold question in such cases is whether the limitation is pursuant to a valid public purpose. The Special Rapporteur cautions that such a valid public purpose is not found in mere commercial interests or revenue-raising objectives, and certainly not when benefits from the extractive activities are primarily for private gain. It should be recalled that under various sources of international law, indigenous peoples have property, cultural and other rights in relation to their traditional territories, even if those rights are not held under a title deed or other form of official recognition. Limitations of all those rights of indigenous peoples must, at a minimum, be backed by a valid public purpose within a human rights framework, just as with limitations on rights formally recognized by the State.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Environment
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 43
- Paragraph text
- A first aspect of the external dimension has to do with the participation of indigenous peoples in the broader public life of the State, as promoted by article 5 of the Declaration, and is related to the right of all citizens to political participation. This aspect of participation in decision-making within spheres extending beyond indigenous communities is mostly, though not entirely, a matter of the rights of indigenous individuals. As affirmed in particular by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Yatama v. Nicaragua, the right of indigenous peoples to participate in the broader public life of the State also includes a collective element, which requires States to enact special measures to ensure the effective participation of indigenous peoples within State political structures and institutions.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The right to life and the right to adequate housing: the indivisibility and interdependence between these rights 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Fifty years after the separation of international human rights into the two covenants, the United Nations is well situated to retrieve a unified and inclusive understanding of human rights and to affirm that the right to life includes the right to a place to live in dignity and security, free of violence. The Human Rights Committee has the opportunity to affirm this integrated understanding of the right to life in the ongoing preparation of its general comment No. 36. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has the opportunity under its Optional Protocol to highlight the connection between the rights to life and adequate housing in lived experience. Other treaty monitoring bodies have the opportunity to ensure that the understanding of the rights to life and adequate housing is informed by the experiences and unique claims of people with disabilities, women, children, migrants, racial minorities and indigenous peoples, among others.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 16a
- Paragraph text
- [The following are necessary conditions for the full realization of the right of everyone to take part in cultural life on the basis of equality and non-discrimination.] Availability is the presence of cultural goods and services that are open for everyone to enjoy and benefit from, including libraries, museums, theatres, cinemas and sports stadiums; literature, including folklore, and the arts in all forms; the shared open spaces essential to cultural interaction, such as parks, squares, avenues and streets; nature's gifts, such as seas, lakes, rivers, mountains, forests and nature reserves, including the flora and fauna found there, which give nations their character and biodiversity; intangible cultural goods, such as languages, customs, traditions, beliefs, knowledge and history, as well as values, which make up identity and contribute to the cultural diversity of individuals and communities. Of all the cultural goods, one of special value is the productive intercultural kinship that arises where diverse groups, minorities and communities can freely share the same territory;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (Art. 15, para. 1(a)) 2009, para. 3
- Paragraph text
- The right of everyone to take part in cultural life is also recognized in article 27, paragraph 1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community". Other international instruments refer to the right to equal participation in cultural activities; the right to participate in all aspects of social and cultural life; the right to participate fully in cultural and artistic life; the right of access to and participation in cultural life; and the right to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life. Instruments on civil and political rights, on the rights of persons belonging to minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, and to participate effectively in cultural life, on the rights of indigenous peoples to their cultural institutions, ancestral lands, natural resources and traditional knowledge, and on the right to development also contain important provisions on this subject.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2009
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Implementation of article 14 by States parties 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- The principle of non-discrimination is a basic and general principle in the protection of human rights and fundamental to the interpretation and application of the Convention. States parties shall ensure that access to justice and to mechanisms for seeking and obtaining redress are readily available and that positive measures ensure that redress is equally accessible to all persons regardless of race, colour, ethnicity, age, religious belief or affiliation, political or other opinion, national or social origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or other disability, health status, economic or indigenous status, reason for which the person is detained, including persons accused of political offences or terrorist acts, asylum-seekers, refugees or others under international protection, or any other status or adverse distinction, and including those marginalized or made vulnerable on bases such as those above. Culturally sensitive collective reparation measures shall be available for groups with shared identity, such as minority groups, indigenous groups, and others. The Committee notes that collective measures do not exclude the individual right to redress.
- Body
- Committee against Torture
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 59
- Paragraph text
- A starting point for the effective implementation of the Declaration is a firm commitment by States and the United Nations system to its rights and principles that is free from vague assertions that the Declaration is not obligatory. On too many occasions State and other actors attempt to diminish the normative weight of the Declaration by describing it as an instrument that is not "legally binding". As a resolution of the General Assembly, the Declaration by its nature is not, in and of itself, a legally binding instrument, given the authority of the General Assembly under the Charter of the United Nations only to make "recommendations", except in regard to membership, budgetary and administrative matters. But understanding the normative significance and legal obligations related to the Declaration does not end there.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to self-determination 1996, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- In order to respect fully the rights of all peoples within a State, Governments are again called upon to adhere to and implement fully the international human rights instruments and in particular the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Concern for the protection of individual rights without discrimination on racial, ethnic, tribal, religious or other grounds must guide the policies of Governments. In accordance with article 2 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other relevant international documents, Governments should be sensitive towards the rights of persons belonging to ethnic groups, particularly their right to lead lives of dignity, to preserve their culture, to share equitably in the fruits of national growth and to play their part in the Government of the country of which they are citizens. Also, Governments should consider, within their respective constitutional frameworks, vesting persons belonging to ethnic or linguistic groups comprised of their citizens, where appropriate, with the right to engage in activities which are particularly relevant to the preservation of the identity of such persons or groups.
- 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
- 1996
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur welcomed the work of her predecessor relating to the rights and status of members of minorities in all regions that find themselves denied or deprived of citizenship, and has continued to raise awareness on these specific communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2017
- 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. 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 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. 38
- Paragraph text
- The independent expert emphasizes that full implementation by all States of the Declaration on Minorities should be considered a key measure to promote equality and political and social stability and as an essential component of good governance in diverse societies. She will pay particular attention to early signs of potential conflicts among different communities, such as indicators of increasing alienation or hatred against certain groups. Examination of challenges and positive practices relating to hate speech and hate crime legislation will be an area of focus. She will seek consultations with diverse stakeholders including in countries where inter-ethnic or interreligious tensions or conflict have previously occurred in order to identify ongoing challenges as well as learn about positive practices, preventative strategies and peace-building initiatives. In particular she draws attention to the need for minorities to be appropriately represented and to participate effectively in public life.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Conservation measures and their impact on indigenous peoples’ rights 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- At the global level, protected-areas policy is shaped by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). A membership organization, as at April 2016, IUCN had 1,351 members, including 89 States, 128 government agencies, 48 affiliates, 112 international NGOs, and 974 national NGOs. The latter two categories include 12 indigenous peoples' organizations. Every four years, IUCN members meet at the World Conservation Congress, where resolutions are adopted on conservation policies, and every ten years a World Parks Congress is held to deliberate on global commitments related to protected areas. World Parks Congresses constitute the most important global forums for setting international standards and guidelines for protected areas. At the Congress held in Durban in 2003, the world's leading conservationists announced a "new paradigm" for protected areas which would respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. This important shift in the approach to conservation was adopted in response to growing public opinion that conventional protected area models wrongly excluded or marginalized indigenous peoples and local communities from their governance and management.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples, including their economic, social and cultural rights in the post-2015 development framework 2014, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- One such example is the undervaluing of the traditional livelihoods and occupations of indigenous peoples, such as traditional fishing practices, hunting and gathering, pastoralism and shifting cultivation. In all parts of the world, indigenous peoples who are engaged in such sustainable but non-sedentary subsistence activities face overwhelming threats to their collective rights to lands, territories and resources, which form the basis of their livelihoods as well as their culture and identity. As observed by the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issue "...national development policies often consider traditional livelihood activities as no longer relevant and sometimes seek to discourage them, even in the absence of viable alternatives". The Special Rapporteur observes that this situation persists despite the fact that the dominant development strategies have led to immense challenges related to the adverse effects of climate change, loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, financial instability, increasing inequalities and unemployment and social crises in many countries.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2014
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The need to harmonize activities affecting indigenous peoples within the United Nations system 2012, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Provisions of the Nagoya Protocol regarding genetic resources have been slightly more problematic in relation to the rights of indigenous peoples. In particular, the Protocol states that parties shall take measures, again with the qualifier "as appropriate", to ensure that benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources held by indigenous and local communities, in accordance with domestic legislation on the rights of these communities, are equitably shared (article 5.2). As regards the sharing of benefits in relation to the use of genetic resources, the Protocol similarly requires that the parties take measures to ensure that the prior and informed consent, or approval and involvement of indigenous and local communities be obtained, but adds "where they have the established right to grant access to such resources" (article 6.2). Concern has been expressed that the reference to established rights in accordance with domestic legislation in these articles could be interpreted to suggest that the rights of indigenous peoples to genetic resources can only be established by domestic law, not 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
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 57
- Paragraph text
- While strengthening of support for the Declaration is to be celebrated, 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. Indeed, historical patterns of oppression continue to manifest themselves in ongoing barriers to the full enjoyment of human rights by indigenous peoples. It is feared that the wide gap between the Declaration and its effective implementation will persist, leading to a certain complacency and acceptance of that condition by dominant actors and within the United Nations system. This cannot be allowed to happen.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 51
- Paragraph text
- Regarding the third aspect of external participation, participation at the international level, the Special Rapporteur notes that there is strong participation of indigenous peoples at the sessions of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Furthermore, over the past two years the Special Rapporteur has observed increased interaction by indigenous peoples with his mandate and notes a heightened engagement by indigenous groups with all the relevant international mechanisms. The formation of the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues is an example of an initiative for strengthening cooperation among United Nations agencies and mainstreaming indigenous issues within the United Nations system, which could also provide an important forum for indigenous peoples' participation at the international level.
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
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. 34
- Paragraph text
- Further, it is apparent from experiences worldwide that the capacity of indigenous peoples to successfully pursue their own development priorities requires the strengthening of their own institutions and self-government structures. This will empower them to take control of their own affairs in all aspects of their lives and to ensure that development processes are aligned with their own cultural patterns, values, customs and world views. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur echoes the statements of indigenous leaders around the world about the need for indigenous peoples themselves to continue to strengthen their own organizational and local governance capacities, in order to meet the challenges faced by their communities with respect to development, including complex decisions regarding natural resource extraction and other major development projects on their lands.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Environmental human rights defenders 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Environmental human rights defenders are one of the most heterogeneous groups of defenders. The category includes a diverse range of people, profiles and trajectories, from small-scale farmers with no land deeds to environmental lawyers and journalists, from well-organized non-governmental organizations to isolated indigenous communities. In many cases, some of these groups already experience marginalization. In many situations, they do not always have the capacity to challenge decisions in courts or they do not have access to mass media. Their marginalization is also due to the nature of their struggles as human rights defenders. Many become environmental human rights defenders by "accident" or "necessity", taking a stand against injustice or harm to their environment. This may amplify their vulnerabilities, as they may not self-identify as environmental human rights defenders and therefore they may be unaware of their rights or existing protection measures, mechanisms or organizations that could support them. The very specific nature of rural communities can also aggravate their vulnerability, as these communities can be located in isolated areas without access to communication and support networks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Activists
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Homelessness as a global human rights crisis that demands an urgent global response 2016, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- Homelessness disproportionately affects particular groups, including women, young people, children, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, migrants and refugees, the working poor, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, each in different ways, but with common structural causes. These include: (a) the retreat by all levels of government from social protection and social housing and the privatization of services, infrastructure, housing and public space; (b) the abandonment of the social function of land and housing; (c) the failure to address growing inequalities in income, wealth and access to land and property; (d) the adoption of fiscal and development policies that support deregulation and real estate speculation and prevent the development of affordable housing options; and (e), in the face of urbanization, the marginalization and mistreatment of those who are most precariously housed in informal settlements, living in temporary overcrowded structures, without access to water, sanitation or other basic services and living under the constant threat of eviction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Poverty
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Water & Sanitation
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Post conflict and post disaster reconstruction and the right to adequate housing 2011, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- While people from all economic groups suffered from the effects of the hurricane, the damage disproportionately affected the most marginalized sectors of the population - poor women, peasants, indigenous groups. Significantly, many of these had been living under insecure tenure conditions in irregular settlements and inadequate housing, located in vulnerable areas exposed to strong winds, flooding and landslides. Although evacuation orders were issued, many refused to leave their homes for fear of losing their belongings, with disastrous and often fatal consequences. Vulnerability and in particular tenure insecurity was both the cause and effect of the disaster for such families. In the absence of officially recognized tenure rights, people ended up living on the fringes in dangerous areas, which due to their location were often worst affected by the hurricane. Any post-disaster response measures intended to form the basis for longer-term recovery would therefore have needed to address pre-existing insecurity, in order to provide a basis for the full realization of the right to adequate housing.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Eliminating discrimination against women in cultural and family life, with a focus on the family as a cultural space 2015, para. 73c (viii)
- Paragraph text
- [The Working Group recommends that States:] Guarantee women's de jure and de facto right to equality in family diversity: In countries where several legal systems coexist, establish and implement national mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of guarantees of equality and non-discrimination between men and women in all areas and at all levels, offering women, especially rural and indigenous women, the possibility of removing themselves from the arbitral authority and jurisdiction of customary institutions. Bring parallel customary, religious and indigenous law systems into line with international human rights law, particularly in respect of gender equality, while acknowledging the importance of the wealth and diversity of culture and traditions. Grant women the right to appeal, in State courts, decisions of religious, customary or indigenous authorities, whether formal or informal, that have violated their right to equality;
- 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
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Annual Report of the WG on Discrimination against Women in Law and in Practice 2012, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- For legal guarantees of gender equality to benefit all women, implementation frameworks and strategies must be responsive to the intersections of sex-based discrimination with other grounds of discrimination, such as race, ethnicity, religion or belief, language, political affiliation, health, status, age, class, caste, national or social origin, property, birth, and sexual orientation and gender identity. Legal guarantees and implementation frameworks and strategies must also integrate special measures to reach women who face multiple forms of discrimination, such as rural and indigenous women, women with disabilities, women living in poverty and women facing other forms of marginalization. This requires a comprehensive and coherent human rights-based approach that ensures that women are at the centre of efforts to hold principally States accountable for implementing international standards guaranteeing civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. National, regional and international human rights mechanisms play critical roles in ensuring the full enjoyment by women of their human rights.
- 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
- Women
- Year
- 2012
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention (Descent) 2002, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Strongly condemning descent-based discrimination, such as discrimination on the basis of caste and analogous systems of inherited status, as a violation of the Convention,
- 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
- 2002
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- The Committee further calls upon States parties with indigenous peoples in their territories to include in their periodic reports full information on the situation of such peoples, taking into account all relevant provisions of the Convention.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 4e
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to:] Ensure that indigenous communities can exercise their rights to practise and revitalize their cultural traditions and customs and to preserve and to practise their languages.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Rights of indigenous peoples 1997, para. 4a
- Paragraph text
- [The Committee calls in particular upon States parties to:] Recognize and respect indigenous distinct culture, history, language and way of life as an enrichment of the State's cultural identity and to promote its preservation;
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1997
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to self-determination 1996, para. 1
- Paragraph text
- The Committee notes that ethnic or religious groups or minorities frequently refer to the right to self determination as a basis for an alleged right to secession. In this connection the Committee wishes to express the following views.
- Body
- Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Year
- 1996
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph