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Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- Equally, efforts must be made to give voice to the diversity of members within minority communities, including women, youth and the elderly, and to interest groups such as returning internally displaced persons. The participation of civil society in debates over models for inclusion is essential.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities and discrimination based on caste and analogous systems of inherited status 2016, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- The caste system migrated with the South Asian diaspora to other regions, including Africa (Mauritius, South Africa), Europe (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland), the Americas (United States of America, Canada and Suriname), the Middle East (Bahrain, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates), Malaysia, Australia and the Pacific (Fiji).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 93
- Paragraph text
- Minorities may face particular challenges in the search for durable solutions, which can include returning to places of origin (for internally displaced persons) or voluntary repatriation (for refugees) once crises or disasters have subsided, or alternatively settlement elsewhere in the country (for internally displaced persons) and resettlement to a third State (for refugees) in host communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 70
- Paragraph text
- Minorities may also be at particular risk of forced return, either in the context of an ongoing humanitarian crisis or once such a crisis is deemed to have ceased. Return always needs to be voluntary, and carried out in safety and dignity in participation and consultation with minorities. Regrettably, the Special Rapporteur has observed with concern examples of minorities forcefully deported back to situations of crises or persecution.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- Violence against minorities can also be more insidious, as has been evident with the recent migration crisis in Europe. Recent protracted conflicts in the Middle East, and in particular the Syrian Arab Republic, led to mass migration flows to Europe in 2015 and 2016. However, this has also been coupled by certain xenophobic reactions against particular flows of asylum seekers and refugees fleeing crisis, which may in turn lead to more violence and insecurity against them.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 56
- Paragraph text
- On the one hand, the disadvantage experienced by minorities in terms of accessing humanitarian relief in crisis is often explained by existing logistical limitations. In crisis and conflict situations, humanitarian assistance may be concentrated in capital cities and/or in a small number of very large, officially recognized refugee or internally displaced persons camps, with very little reaching the periphery where minority and vulnerable populations may reside.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Even outside fully fledged armed conflicts, discrimination against minority groups in societies may reach such levels that it results in hate-based crimes and leads to internal displacement. In Myanmar, violence and atrocities committed against the Rohingya, coupled with the Government's refusal to recognize their status as an ethnic minority, and denial of their citizenship, has been and is still pushing the Rohingya to flee to other parts of the country or abroad.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 50
- Paragraph text
- Indeed, displacement of minority communities continued unabated in 2014 and 2015. In Iraq, visited by the Special Rapporteur in February 2016, the Yezidi minority have been targeted on the basis of their identity by the Islamic State, and forced to flee their homes, in particular in Sinjar, Northern Iraq. Other Iraqi minority communities, including Christians, Turkmen, and certain Sunni Arab tribes, have also been particularly exposed to attacks by members of the Islamic State.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 41
- Paragraph text
- Finally, UNHCR's Working with National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Forced Displacement (2011) is a very useful tool which acknowledges the potential vulnerabilities of minorities who are displaced, and recognizes that these obstacles may be multiplied during forced displacement and increase protection risks.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 38
- Paragraph text
- The Convention also stipulates in its article 3 that "Contracting States shall apply the provisions of this Convention to refugees without discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin". Therefore, refugees arriving in a country and becoming a minority in the host country should be protected against discrimination as to race, religion or country of origin.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- [In this context the Special Rapporteur on minority issues has decided to dedicate her final report to the General Assembly to this important topic, considering two guiding questions:] In the context of humanitarian crises or disasters, what are the additional challenges that minorities face when seeking protection, even when the trigger of their displacement or changed situation is not directly linked to their affiliation as members of that minority group?
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The human rights situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism 2015, para. 8
- Paragraph text
- Roma groups in Latin America have been arriving from Europe since the beginning of European colonization there, as well as during ongoing migration processes. Despite the lack of official census data, a 1991 study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimated the Roma population in the region to be approximately 1,500,000. Recent government data indicates a population of over half a million Roma in Brazil.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
The human rights situation of Roma worldwide, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of anti-Gypsyism 2015, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- Tallinn University in Estonia is conducting a study on stereotypes of various nationalities in Estonian online media with the objective of mapping and analysing stereotypes of individual nationalities. Additionally, the exhibition "We, the Roma", which reviews Estonian Roma history, culture and everyday life, opened in October 2013 and has since toured the country and abroad. It was shown at the Estonian Embassy in Helsinki and will open in Budapest in 2015.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- In other circumstances, including during internal conflicts, certain minorities' freedom of movement is restricted on account of their identity, owing to perceived threats that they pose. This can lead to a refusal to permit passage to safe areas and restrict access to humanitarian assistance for those individuals because of the community's identity or ethnicity. The Special Rapporteur observed this with regard to internally displaced persons in relation to Sunni Muslims in the Kurdistan region in Iraq (see A/HRC/32/35/Add.1, para. 43).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 37
- Paragraph text
- The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol are the key international legal instruments defining international refugee protection obligations, at the global level. The Convention defines a refugee and the rights attached to refugee status. The 1967 Protocol subsequently removed the temporal found in the 1951 Convention. Indeed, the core principles of refugee protection as defined by the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol therefore provide specific protection on the basis of persecution because of minority status.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Protection of minority rights in conflict prevention 2010, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- 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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2010
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- Although the resettlement of refugees to third countries from refugee camps makes up only a very small percentage of all durable solutions, there is also the worrying concern that certain ethnic or national minorities are routinely excluded from such programmes.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 95
- Paragraph text
- Local integration and settlement in new communities can be particularly challenging for minorities who are internally displaced persons and refugees, as they need to adapt to new environments, with no support networks, and may be victims of discrimination with host communities.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- Global migration patterns often drive certain migrants to form more or less compact communities in their host country. States must make concerted efforts to support members of new minorities to integrate into the national labour market, social fabric and collective psyche and to establish guarantees for them to freely practise their language, religion, traditions and culture. Feelings of alienation and lack of belonging, as often experienced by migrants, and feelings of fear and threat, as often experienced by citizens, may induce anti-social and even criminal behaviour, including extremism. Such feelings should be met with proactive diversity programmes helping migrants and citizens to connect and know each other better, and favouring social integration for all.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Reflections on the six-year tenure of the Special Rapporteur 2017, para. 58
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur wishes to state at the outset that she is of the view that the progress achieved in the last decades in the field of minority rights protection is under threat, and that there is a serious risk that guarantees that have been put in place could be reversed. In recent years, protracted and recent conflicts of various kinds around the globe have led to an unprecedented number of internally displaced persons, migrants and refugees, many of whom belong to minority groups. Increasing hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric and incitement to hatred against minorities have been coupled with the rise of far-right and extremist political parties that are using minorities as scapegoats to divert domestic attention from entrenched and structural problems. Developments in the field of counter-terrorism legislation, discrimination and lack of representation of minorities in governmental structures and within the administration of justice globally have resulted in minorities being increasingly targeted. Widespread attacks against minority individuals and communities, perpetrated with total impunity in different regions, demonstrate the continuing vulnerability faced by minorities around the globe.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 101
- Paragraph text
- To this end, the collection of data disaggregated by ethnicity, religion and language is essential to adequately map affected groups in humanitarian crises and natural disasters. Data collection programmes should allow for diverse forms of self-identification and comply with international standards regarding the right to privacy. Furthermore, national authorities should collect and share data on all causes of displacement in their country. Equality and anti discrimination laws and legal protection of minorities, and other potentially vulnerable groups should be in place and include provisions relating to the prohibition of unlawful displacement.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 98
- Paragraph text
- 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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- 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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- This was also the case regarding the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, which wreaked havoc across the United States Gulf Coast. While the hurricane led to one of the greatest episodes of internal displacement in United States history, with over a million people forced from their homes and communities, the disaster also had a clear racial dimension. In terms of evacuation, in the state of Louisiana for example, the funded evacuation plan relied on personal vehicles as the primary means of escape. However, Black Americans, who constituted the majority of the pre-Katrina population of New Orleans, were less likely to own cars than whites, and therefore faced a serious disadvantage. Another example comes from Pakistan, where there are allegations that members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community did not receive equal access to humanitarian services in the aftermath of the catastrophic 2010 floods.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 71
- Paragraph text
- Returns following the cessation of conflict have been extensively documented, in particular in connection with the return of Roma from Western Europe to the Balkans. Where deportations take place without consent, minorities may face numerous obstacles to their basic human rights, including lack of access to personal documents and statelessness; problems repossessing their property or obtaining housing; difficulties accessing education, health, employment and social welfare; and separation from family members. In some cases, loss of temporary protection status in host countries and the forced repatriation to their countries of origin, coupled with the lack of adequate policies for the integration of returnees, have resulted in minority communities being forced into continuous migration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- In some cases, when conflict erupts, minorities may have their property confiscated. In her report on the visit to Ukraine, the Special Rapporteur referred, among other concerns, to the loss of property by those displaced from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, including reports of property seizure (see A/HRC/28/64/Add.1, paras. 48 and 62). Furthermore, where minorities flee or are expelled from their lands owing to conflicts or crises, and new communities have settled there, it may be particularly challenging for minorities to reclaim those lands. This difficulty can be compounded where minorities lack documentation to prove ownership rights (see A/HRC/22/49/Add.1), and in particular where ownership was established through customary law.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Movement
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- The differentiated access to economic, social and cultural rights for particular minority groups in situations of displacement can often be compounded by a lack of adequate documentation. This may further impede access to humanitarian assistance, including a range of public services during crises such as health care, education, housing and employment programmes, as well as social integration. For example, the Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons noted in his report on Serbia and Kosovo that Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian internally displaced persons have been more vulnerable than other internally displaced persons in accessing basic services owing to their lack of documentation (see A/HRC/26/33/Add.2, para 20).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 60
- Paragraph text
- Minorities may also experience particular restrictions on their freedom of movement during conflict and humanitarian crises, including more frequent stops or because of their identity even being blocked at border and checkpoints when attempting to flee conflicts, as well as intimidation, discrimination or even violence against them when trying to flee. For example, it has been well documented that sub-Saharan African migrants and asylum seekers, seeking to transit through countries in North Africa en route to Europe have been particularly targeted on account of their race, and suffered violence. In some instances, minorities seeking asylum status may be arbitrarily detained and forcefully deported to their home countries without adequate assessment of their asylum claims and/or may encounter particular obstacles to be registered as asylum seekers based on their minority characteristics.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 55
- Paragraph text
- While minorities may be affected in different ways by humanitarian crises owing to their minority status or indirectly, they may also often face specific human rights challenges and discrimination during or after potential displacement or disruption because of humanitarian crises, owing to their specific position as a member of a minority group in a society, even when the trigger of their displacement or changed situation is not directly linked to their affiliation to that minority group. Indeed, the Special Rapporteur notes that belonging to a minority, coupled with other potential discriminatory factors, such as gender, can have a dramatic impact on humanitarian protection afforded to the person.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises 2016, para. 47
- Paragraph text
- There is sometimes a direct causal link between belonging to a minority group and being affected by a humanitarian crisis. Indeed, belonging to a minority group can be a direct factor leading to displacement in the context of conflict. As has been observed by OHCHR, the "lack of respect for, lack of protection and lack of fulfilment of the rights of minorities may be at least a contributing factor if not the primary cause of displacement and may in the worst cases - even lead to the extinction of such communities. The displacement of minorities can thus serve as an indicator of the degree to which their rights are respected, protected and fulfilled in the country from which they are displaced."
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on minority issues
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Person(s) affected
- Ethnic minorities
- Persons on the move
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph