40/30 Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities - Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

GE.18-22483(E)



Human Rights Council Fortieth session

25 February–22 March 2019

Agenda items 2 and 3

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities

Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights

Summary

The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/14.

It contains information on relevant developments of United Nations human rights bodies

and mechanisms, and on the activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights at headquarters and in the field that contribute to the

promotion of and respect for the provisions of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons

Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and the provisions of

relevant international human rights treaties. The report covers the period from 1 January to

31 December 2018.

United Nations A/HRC/40/30

Contents

Page

I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3

II. Activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

and recent developments of human rights bodies and mechanisms .............................................. 3

A. Early warning mechanisms and protection of minorities ...................................................... 3

B. Non-discrimination guarantees ............................................................................................. 5

C. Human rights situation of Roma communities ..................................................................... 7

D. Minority youth ...................................................................................................................... 8

E. Empowerment and participation ........................................................................................... 9

F. Religious minorities .............................................................................................................. 10

G. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: leaving no one behind .................................... 12

H. Minorities and migration ...................................................................................................... 12

I. Minorities and statelessness .................................................................................................. 13

J. Linguistic rights .................................................................................................................... 14

K. Human rights defenders ........................................................................................................ 15

III. United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities............................. 15

IV. Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 16

I. Introduction

1. In its resolution 37/14 on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic,

religious and linguistic minorities, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights to present an annual report to the Council. The

present report contains information on relevant developments in the work of United Nations

human rights bodies and mechanisms, and on the specific strategies adopted and activities

undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

(OHCHR), at its headquarters and in the field, that contribute to the promotion of and

respect for the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,

Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

II. Activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and recent developments of human rights bodies and mechanisms

A. Early warning mechanisms and protection of minorities

2. OHCHR continued to assist national authorities and other stakeholders in taking steps to prevent or mitigate violations of the human rights of persons belonging to

minorities, including by supporting early warning mechanisms and risk assessments and

building rapid response capacities.

3. In January 2018, in his report to the Human Rights Council on progress achieved in promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka, the High

Commissioner noted his particular concern regarding numerous incidents of intercommunal

violence, attacks and hate speech against minorities during the course of 2017

(A/HRC/37/23, para. 45). That type of violence, in a country that had experienced cycles of

extreme violence roughly every 10 years, was deeply troubling, particularly when

accompanied by hate speech, misinformation and agitation through social media and

political manipulation (ibid., para. 50).

4. In May 2018, the High Commissioner expressed deep alarm at the volatile situation

in the Central African Republic, particularly given the worrying incidents of hate speech

and incitement to violence on the basis of religion, and the recent killings and attacks in

Bangui.1

5. In July 2018, the High Commissioner reported that the security situation in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo continued to deteriorate in several regions across the

country, with a dramatic impact on civilians. Inter-ethnic and intercommunal violence had

also continued in Ituri Province between members of the Hema and Lendu communities,

resulting in deaths, the burning of villages and mass displacement. Recently deployed army

troops were also alleged to have committed human rights violations, particularly targeting

the Lendu community.2

6. At the end of a three-day day visit to Kyrgyzstan in May 2018, the Assistant

Secretary-General for Human Rights stressed that fair and equal treatment of ethnic

minorities was a prerequisite for a just society. Human rights violations committed by

governments, including discrimination among targeted groups, led to a strong sense of

alienation and often violence and terrorism. In his meetings with high-ranking Kyrgyz

officials, he had stressed the need to ensure that ethnic minorities were fully represented in

the civil service, judiciary and law enforcement at both the local and national levels. He

1 See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23056&LangID=E.

2 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23316&LangID=E.

expressed concern over the continued lack of accountability for the victims of the ethnic

violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June 2010.3

7. In September 2018, the new High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her opening

statement at the thirty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council, drew attention to the

review of China by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in August

2018, which had brought to light deeply disturbing allegations of the arbitrary detention of

large numbers of Uighurs and other Muslim minority communities, in so-called re-

education camps across the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.4

8. She also drew attention to the situation in Cameroon, which had worsened in recent

months as fighting had intensified in the Anglophone regions between security forces and

armed groups, with a large number of civilian victims and over 180,000 people forcibly

displaced.5

9. The detailed findings of the independent international fact-finding mission on

Myanmar (A/HRC/39/CRP.2) were issued in September 2018. The mission determined that

many of the human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian

law in Kachin, Shan and Rakhine States amounted to the gravest crimes under international

law. In addition to crimes against humanity and war crimes – reported to have been

committed in all three States – the mission found strong evidence indicating that genocide

had been committed against the Rohingya in Rakhine State. The mission noted the violent

modus operandi of the Myanmar military, known as the Tatmadaw, against its own people

and was struck by the similarity of the Tatmadaw operations and conduct across all three

States. During its operations, the Tatmadaw systematically targeted civilians, including

women and children, committed sexual violence, voiced and promoted exclusionary and

discriminatory rhetoric against minorities, and established a climate of impunity for its

soldiers. The mission also documented serious human rights violations committed by the

Tatmadaw against ethnic Rakhine communities, including forced labour, sexual violence,

killings and forced evictions.

10. The mission concluded that the half century of ongoing conflict between the

Tatmadaw and the ethnic minorities in Myanmar, involving serious violations of

international law, has made it abundantly clear that peace is impossible without a

negotiated national political settlement that recognizes the legitimate aspirations of all

ethnic minorities in Myanmar. The mission urged the Government of Myanmar to ensure

the enjoyment of human rights for all, based on full equality and regardless of citizenship or

“national race” status; and to dismantle the systems of oppression and discrimination

against ethnic and religious minorities, with an urgent focus on the situation of the

Rohingya.

11. During the reporting period, United Nations special procedure mandate holders took

early warning measures to address concerns specific to certain countries or situations with

respect to minorities. Several mandate holders sent an urgent appeal to Sri Lanka in March

2018, expressing serious concern over the attacks against Muslim minority groups in the

Kandy district and the destruction of Muslim-owned properties and Muslim religious sites,

as well as the alleged rise of hate speech and incitement to violence against Muslims by

Sinhala extremist groups in the country. The mandate holders noted with concern that

violent incidents against Muslim minority groups in the Kandy district had occurred on

several occasions over recent years, motivated by inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric

propagated within extremist groups and on social media. The mandate holders welcomed

the public statements made by government representatives condemning the attacks, hate

speech and incitement to violence, and the Government’s expressed commitment to launch

3 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23109&LangID=E.

4 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23518&LangID=E.

5 Ibid.

an investigation into the incidents and into the possible failure of the law enforcement

authorities to fulfil their duty.6

12. In March 2018, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation

and guarantees of non-recurrence and the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the

Prevention of Genocide reported on their joint study (A/HRC/37/65). They underlined that

the effective “upstreaming” of atrocity prevention work would include measures to prevent

the entrenchment of various forms of inequality and marginalization. Those measures could

include removing discriminatory provisions from existing constitutions and introducing

mechanisms of inclusion. Since, in many countries, attacks predominantly targeted

minorities, articulating clear and enforceable guarantees for minorities in bills of rights

might offer some protection and discourage both attacks on minorities and pre-emptive

action by them.

B. Non-discrimination guarantees

13. During the period under review, OHCHR engaged in activities and strategies for the

promotion and inclusion of non-discrimination guarantees in normative and policy

processes regarding persons belonging to minorities.

14. In July 2018, during a side event at the thirty-eighth session of the Human Rights

Council, the High Commissioner stated that the General Assembly’s request that Member

States consider drafting a declaration on the promotion and full respect of the human rights

of people of African descent was timely and important. The declaration should serve as an

incentive for national action, providing concepts and ideas that could form a basis for the

adoption of equality laws and policies. The primary beneficiaries of the declaration should

be directly engaged in the drafting process, enabling them to express their views to the

world community and engage with their governments in a manner that they had not been

able to in the past.7

15. At the country level during 2018, the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations

Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) continued to promote efforts aimed at

protecting the rights of ethnic and religious minorities in the country. The new Penal Code

of Afghanistan, which entered into force on 14 February 2018, reinforces the country’s

compliance with international human rights and criminal justice standards. The Code

contains articles on the protection of the rights of ethnic and religious minority groups in

relation to equality of persons before the law, incitement to discrimination or factionalism,

insult to religion, introduction of sentencing for attacks against followers of religions, and

discrimination in the civil service on religious, ethnic or linguistic grounds. In August 2018,

the Government of Afghanistan commenced work on the draft anti-discrimination law,

which will be reviewed by a legislative reform committee comprised of national and

international stakeholders. The Human Rights Unit remains engaged with the Ministry of

Justice to provide technical support in integrating international human rights standards into

the draft law for the protection of ethnic and religious minorities.

16. The OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia, in cooperation with the Presidential

Office of Tajikistan, organized several meetings of the working group on the development

of an anti-discrimination law. Those meetings offered a first opportunity for representatives

of the Presidential Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Ombudsperson, civil

society, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and United

Nations agencies to review relevant recommendations from human rights mechanisms and

take them into account during the drafting process of the anti-discrimination law. Based on

OHCHR advocacy, the Government made a commitment to prepare the draft law in close

consultation with civil society organizations. It is expected that during 2019, after further

rounds of public discussion, the law will be drafted and submitted to State ministries and

agencies for their feedback. During 2018, the Regional Office also supported the

6 See https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?

gId=23715.

7 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23304&LangID=E.

Government in developing a national action plan for 2018–2020 to implement the

recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (see

CERD/C/TJK/CO/9-11). The national action plan, developed through consultations with

civil society, establishes the duty of the State to monitor the country situation and to adopt

the measures necessary to ensure that ethnic minorities are represented in the civil service

and in law enforcement agencies, to provide quality education to representatives of ethnic

minorities and to amend existing laws. In addition, provisions concerning the right to

equality and the prohibition of discrimination against minorities are included in the draft

national human rights strategy that is being prepared with support from the Regional

Office. The national strategy will cover issues related to the participation of minorities in

the economic, social and cultural life of society, and their right to be educated in both the

State and minority languages.

17. The OHCHR Regional Office for Europe supported the goals of the International

Decade for People of African Descent by raising awareness about the increase in racial

hatred and violence against people of African descent in Europe. It also encouraged

European Union institutions to acknowledge people of African descent as victims of

racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and supported measures

to close gaps in European Union anti-discrimination legislation.

18. During the period under review, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central America

continued to promote equality and discourage discrimination, as part of its strategy to

address the racial profiling of people of African descent. The Regional Office analysed the

data-collection and evaluation methods used to identify racial profiling in a number of

countries. The findings, methodological issues and lessons learned from other countries and

experiences were summarized to contribute to the preliminary analysis of samples of data

collection and evaluation methods used in public institutions in Panama. A methodological

proposal and a road map for the preparation of a report on racial profiling in the law

enforcement agencies in Panama will be developed in 2019 by OHCHR.

19. In March 2018, in a statement marking the International Day for the Elimination of

Racial Discrimination, a number of United Nations and regional human rights experts urged

States, civil society organizations and activists to step up their efforts to stem the alarming

rise in racism and xenophobia worldwide. They highlighted that racial, ethnic and religious

bigotry was fuelling human rights violations, including extreme violence against minorities

and against refugees, migrants, and stateless and internally displaced persons, including

people of African descent. They said that urgent global attention must be paid to the

structural economic, political and legal conditions that were stoking racism and xenophobia

among populations that perceived minorities and non-nationals as threats. Putting an end to

the forced displacement and cultural extinction of racial, ethnic, religious and linguistic

minorities that resulted from extraction and construction projects driven by both

governments and multinational corporations, was just as urgent as addressing the

resurgence of neo-Nazism.8

20. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination,

xenophobia and related intolerance, noted in her report (A/HRC/38/52) that the resurgent

xenophobic and racist rhetoric and policies rooted in ethno-nationalism not only harmed

non-citizens of any given nation, but also made citizens who were members of ethnic, racial

or religious minorities vulnerable to discrimination and intolerance.

21. During the reporting period, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial

Discrimination and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

against Women made recommendations to several States in relation to non-discrimination

guarantees to protect minority groups. For example, the Committee on the Elimination of

Racial Discrimination addressed the need to take steps to facilitate access by minorities to

justice.9 It also addressed the discrimination faced by persons of African descent, in

particular reports of racist hate crime and hate speech, racist depictions in the media, racial

profiling, residential and economic segregation and discrimination in accessing health care,

8 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22856&LangID=E.

9 See, for example, CERD/C/KGZ/CO/8-10, para. 14.

education and employment.10 The Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women addressed the question of access to justice by minority

women, including access to free interpretation services.11

C. Human rights situation of Roma communities

22. OHCHR and human rights mechanisms have followed the situation of Roma

communities around the world. This includes monitoring cases of concern through special

procedure mechanisms, ensuring that sufficient attention is paid to Roma issues, conducting

field missions to countries where Roma communities reside, and issuing press releases and

statements where relevant on matters of concern involving Roma communities.

23. In March 2018, the OHCHR Regional Office for Europe conducted a mission to

France, with the aim of ensuring that housing policies are designed and implemented in a

manner that protects and promotes the human rights of Roma communities. During the

mission, the team documented the specific challenges faced by Roma living in informal

slums and squats, and the developments made and measures taken by the authorities in the

areas of housing, education, employment and health. In June 2018, OHCHR published the

report “No one left behind: mission report on the right to housing and related human rights

of Roma in France”, which was produced with the assistance of the French National

Consultative Commission on Human Rights. The report concluded that the laws and

policies related to housing and the human rights of Roma in France had not been

implemented in a systematic manner across the French territory, and that greater efforts

were needed to ensure that available resources reached those most in need. OHCHR called

on France to design and implement its policies in a manner that protected and promoted the

human rights of the most excluded, and to ensure that no one was left behind.

24. OHCHR is also supporting efforts to advance the development of truth and

reconciliation processes at the national and European levels in order to acknowledge the

persecution and exclusion of Roma communities, pursuant to the European Parliament

resolution of 25 October 2017 on fundamental rights aspects in Roma integration in the

European Union. The Office is collaborating with Soraya Post, a Member of the European

Parliament, her office and other relevant stakeholders, to implement the resolution as an

important tool in bridging the gap in trust between the Roma community and the majority

groups in society.

25. In April 2018, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues issued a statement upon the

conclusion of his official visit to Slovenia, highlighting that stronger steps were required to

tackle discrimination, prejudice and social exclusion, and therefore the continuing issues

affecting the Slovenian Roma community. He recommended that additional specific

measures be taken, in consultation with civil society representatives, in the fields of

education and social services, including temporary affirmative action programmes in

employment.12

26. The Special Rapporteur on racism conducted an official visit to the United Kingdom

of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in May 2018. She raised strong concerns over the

invisibility of Roma, gypsy and traveller communities, which, despite formal recognition

and intensive consultation, still did not benefit from an adequate level of national

integration and suffered high levels of prejudice from the population at large.13

27. Three special procedure mandate holders issued a statement in July 2018, urging

Ukraine to take immediate action to stop what amounted to “systematic persecution” of

members of the Roma minority, who had been targeted in a series of violent attacks. The

mandate holders condemned the acts of intimidation and violence against members of the

Roma minority in Ukraine and expressed serious concern at the growing level of hatred and

10 See, for example, CERD/C/SWE/CO/22-23, para. 22 and CERD/C/SAU/CO/4-9, para. 25.

11 See, for example, CEDAW/C/SUR/CO/4-6, paras. 12–13.

12 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22935&LangID=E.

13 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23074&LangID=E.

racially motivated violence against that community, and in particular against women and

children, its most vulnerable members.14

28. In her annual report (A/HRC/38/52), the Special Rapporteur on racism highlighted

that long-standing barriers in access to citizenship and naturalization in various countries

had contributed to the deep-rooted forms of discrimination and exclusion faced by Sinti and

Roma. Many members of the Roma and Sinti communities were stateless or faced the risk

of statelessness due to their lack of access to civil registration and identity documents.

Those barriers meant that statelessness was passed on from generation to generation, further

perpetuating their exclusion, discrimination and marginalization.

29. The Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial

Discrimination and the Committee on the Rights of the Child made recommendations to

several States in relation to Roma communities, particularly concerning intolerance and

prejudice towards vulnerable and minority groups, including Roma, and the prevalence of

hate speech and hate crimes against those groups, including on the Internet. The

Committees also expressed concern over children in Roma communities. They

recommended that States strengthen their efforts to combat intolerance, stereotypes and

prejudice, and take measures to improve the reporting, investigation, prosecution and

punishment of hate crimes and criminal hate speech.15 The Committee on the Rights of the

Child also recommended that States establish a system to track all cases involving child

marriage in Roma communities.16

D. Minority youth

30. In June 2018, in his report on youth and human rights (A/HRC/39/33), the High

Commissioner highlighted that existing participatory decision-making mechanisms should

be improved and new ones explored in order to offer the possibility to think beyond

traditional voting, and to make better use of information and communications technologies

to ensure the equal participation of young people. Those mechanisms should take into

account how intersecting forms of discrimination affected the ability of all young people to

participate, in particular young people belonging to minority groups.

31. During the reporting period, some initiatives at the country level sought to promote

the rights of minority youth. For example, in May 2018, a youth educational club called

Synergy, from North Mitrovica, led a plenary activity as part of the project entitled “youth

as advocates of human rights and gender equality”, supported by the Human Rights Unit of

the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Over the course

of six months, Synergy delivered 20 workshops for approximately 200 high school and

university students from non-majority communities, aimed at raising their awareness of the

root causes and ramifications of different forms of violence.

32. Also in May 2018, the second session of the Moldovan national youth forum on

minorities, organized by the Moldovan youth platform for inter-ethnic solidarity, with the

support of OHCHR, took place in Chisinau. It focused on the representation of minorities in

the mass media. Around 100 participants gathered for the event, including minority young

people from different regions of the country, non-governmental organizations (NGOs),

journalists from minority and majority communities, members of the Government and

Parliament and representatives of national human rights institutions. Participants made

recommendations to the Government, which included support for minority-led media; the

translation of websites of government institutions into minority languages; and the effective

monitoring and sanctioning of discriminatory and hate speech towards minorities, both

online and in the traditional mass media.

14 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23385&LangID=E.

15 See, for example, CCPR/C/LTU/CO/4, para. 8, CCPR/C/HUN/CO/6, para. 16 and

CERD/C/SWE/CO/22-23, para. 25.

16 See, for example, CRC/C/MNE/CO/2-3, para. 36.

33. In August 2018, OHCHR participated in the running of the second minority rights

summer school, held in Gagauzia, Republic of Moldova, and organized by the Moldovan

youth platform for inter-ethnic solidarity and the Ukrainian Romani youth organization.

Around 20 minority young people from different ethno-linguistic and religious

communities of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine attended the event. Young people

from the majority community and former OHCHR minority fellows from Georgia, the

Republic of Moldova and Ukraine also participated in the summer school.

E. Empowerment and participation

34. International minority rights standards emphasize the effective participation of

persons belonging to minorities in decisions that affect them, and their full participation in

all aspects of public life. In this context, OHCHR engaged in strategies and activities to

promote the empowerment and participation of minorities.

35. Established in 2005, the OHCHR Minorities Fellowship Programme is the most

comprehensive training and capacity-building programme for minority youth in the United

Nations system. Offered in Arabic, English and Russian, the programme aims to provide

young people from minority communities with an in-depth knowledge of the United

Nations human rights mechanisms and reinforce their advocacy skills to better promote

international human rights standards. In 2018, the programme was held from 4 to 30

November with the participation of 40 fellows from 36 countries. While the programme is

organized by OHCHR, several other United Nations agencies are also involved, such as the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United

Nations Institute for Training and Research, the International Labour Organization, the

United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality

and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the United Nations Children’s Fund. It

is run in close collaboration with Geneva-based civil society and NGO partners, and other

international and regional bodies such as the Permanent Delegation of the European Union

to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, and the

Council of Europe.

36. To ensure the complementarity and sustainability of work on minority issues at both

the global and country levels, the national and regional components of the fellowship

programme were held in the OHCHR office in Tunisia, and in the OHCHR Regional

Offices for Europe and for the Middle East and North Africa. In addition, two senior

minority fellows joined OHCHR at its headquarters in Geneva and contributed directly to

its programmes and activities on minority issues. Such exposure also allowed the fellows to

develop an extensive contact network with OHCHR staff in general, and with other United

Nations departments or agencies, State representatives and human rights NGOs in Geneva.

37. Throughout 2018, the OHCHR country office in Colombia supported the work of

the National Afro-Colombian Peace Council, the National Association for Displaced Afro-

Colombians and the National Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations. The country

office provided concrete policy recommendations on collective land rights and reparations

for Afro-Colombian peoples to several State institutions. The office also provided

continuous technical advisory services to a wide range of ethnic leaders throughout the

country.

38. As mentioned above, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights conducted a

three-day visit to Kyrgyzstan in May 2018, concluding that fair and equal treatment of

ethnic minorities was a prerequisite for a just society. He also stressed the need to ensure

that ethnic minorities were fully represented in the civil service, judiciary and law

enforcement at both the local and national levels.17

39. In September 2018, in Herat Province, Afghanistan, UNAMA organized a meeting

with civil society representatives to discuss challenges faced by minority groups, with

particular regard to their participation in the parliamentary and district council elections that

17 See www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23109&LangID=E.

were to take place on 20 October. The participants also raised concerns over whether the

transparency of the proportional representation system would meet the expectations of

minority groups.

40. During the period under review, with the aim of increasing the participation of

ethnic minorities in State structures, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia, in

partnership with Osh State University, Kyrgyzstan, developed an internship programme

within the national and local civil service for final-year university students and university

graduates. Almost 30 participants, including members of ethnic minorities and members of

the majority ethnic group, successfully completed their internships in various State

agencies.18 Through the programme, participants with diverse ethnic backgrounds became

involved in the daily provision of national and local services, and they were able to acquire

first-hand experience and improve their skills to better qualify for positions in those

services.

41. The Special Rapporteur on the right to education, in her report on governance and

the right to education (A/HRC/38/32), underlined that participation should not be based on

majority rule. Decentralization could ensure that education was more equitable, inclusive

and responsive to local learner needs by empowering local communities, particularly

minorities, to adjust the delivery of education to meet local demands.

42. In order to effectively promote and protect the participation of minority groups, the

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended taking measures to

ensure and promote occupational mobility for marginalized groups, including through

hiring incentives, vocational training and community-based awareness-raising and

empowerment programmes.19 In other cases, the Committee recommended ensuring the

effective participation of all ethnic groups and relevant civil society organizations,

particularly those working on the elimination of racial discrimination in the design,

implementation and evaluation of State policies.20

43. In October 2018, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia launched a

comprehensive strategic litigation programme on non-discrimination for lawyers and

human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan. The aim of the programme is to enable lawyers and

human rights defenders to conduct litigation professionally and competently in strategically

important cases related to ethnic minorities. The year-long programme has provided

training to 50 lawyers and human rights defenders on the principles and theory of strategic

litigation and on how international and national law can be used to engender social change

in the country. The training programme is part of the Judicial and Social Equality

Programme of the Regional Office for Central Asia.

44. In the same vein, in October 2018, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia

delivered the first of five segments of a comprehensive training programme for civil society

organizations, national human rights institutions and members of the national preventive

mechanism on non-discrimination, including on the rights of ethnic minorities. Through the

programme, already 90 participants have been able to discuss concepts related to human

rights, international human rights law and international mechanisms for the protection of

human rights, with a specific focus on diversity management.

F. Religious minorities

45. OHCHR has been relying on the United Nations network on racial discrimination

and protection of minorities, and the framework contained in the Beirut Declaration on

Faith for Rights, for training and advocacy purposes with different stakeholders, including

religious minorities, members of civil society and United Nations human rights

mechanisms. The Beirut Declaration and its 18 commitments on “Faith for Rights” notably

include the pledge to stand up for the rights of all persons belonging to minorities and to

18 For example, the State tax service, the Prosecutor’s Office, mayors’ offices and police stations.

19 See, for example, CERD/C/NPL/CO/17-23, para. 31.

20 See, for example, CERD/C/KGZ/CO/8-10, para. 20.

defend their freedom of religion or belief, as well as their right to participate equally and

effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life, as recognized by

international human rights law and as a minimum standard of solidarity among all

believers.21

46. In the same context, OHCHR organized the first regional workshop in Tunis in May

2018, focusing on the role of young people of different faiths in the promotion of human

rights in the Middle East and North Africa. Several ongoing initiatives were presented

through interactive panel discussions, including initiatives on promoting minority rights

through advocacy with United Nations human rights mechanisms and on youth

entrepreneurship to prevent violent extremism.

47. In November 2018, OHCHR organized a conference in Morocco, with the

participation of young people from the Middle East and North Africa and international

experts, including the Special Rapporteur on minority issues. The conference focused on

engaging members of civil society, in particular young people, to share their experience of

promoting the rights of minorities, combating incitement to hatred and identifying future

steps to protect religious minorities. It also aimed to encourage young people to engage in

promoting respect and understanding, combating incitement to hatred and promoting the

rights of religious minorities.

48. The UNAMA Human Rights Unit continued to document attacks targeting the

minority Shia population in Afghanistan, and continued to advocate for the better protection

of this religious minority group. In its special report covering the period 1 January to 30

September 2018, 22 UNAMA noted that anti-government elements continued to direct

attacks against the Shia Muslim population, most of whom were ethnic Hazara.23 During

the reporting period, other religious minorities, such as Hindus and Sikhs, also suffered

from violence, causing members of those two religious minorities to fear for their safety.

49. In July 2018, the Human Rights Unit of the United Nations Mission for Justice

Support in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), together with the Haitian national council of voodoo,

launched a three-month project focused on the evaluation of and awareness-raising on

discrimination against those who practise voodoo. The first phase of the project aims to

identify the types of acts of violence and discrimination perpetrated against those who

practise voodoo, and to encourage victims to file judicial complaints. The second phase will

consist of public awareness campaigns to promote religious freedom and religious

tolerance.

50. A number of United Nations human rights mechanisms raised issues related to

religious minorities during the reporting period. In its resolution 37/9 on freedom of

religion or belief, the Human Rights Council expressed concern at continuing acts of

intolerance and violence based on religion or belief against individuals, including persons

belonging to religious communities and religious minorities around the world.

51. In her annual report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/38/52), the Special

Rapporteur on racism drew attention to how, in many parts of the world, individuals or

groups were discriminated against because they were “Muslim-looking”, irrespective of

whether those individuals or groups even held Islamic religious beliefs. While religion was

not mentioned as a ground for prohibited racial discrimination in the International

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Committee on

the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had found that article 1 might apply to cases

involving religious discrimination where the targeted individual or individuals belonged to

identifiable ethnic minority groups.

21 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/FaithForRights.aspx.

22 UNAMA, “Special report: increasing harm to Afghan civilians from the deliberate and indiscriminate

use of improvised explosive devices” (Kabul, Afghanistan, 2018).

23 Between 1 January and 30 September 2018, there were 705 civilian casualties, 211 deaths and 494

injuries caused by suicide and non-suicide attacks using improvised explosive devices. With the

exception of one suicide attack, they were all claimed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant-

Khorasan Province.

52. The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, in his interim report to the

General Assembly (A/73/362), explained that violence in the name of religion or belief

predominantly targeted persons belonging to religious or belief minorities, including

converts, humanists, atheists and agnostics who suffered from a climate of intimidation,

repression or violence, globally. In recent years, a number of joint communications had

been issued to States by the special procedure mandate holders, together with the Special

Rapporteur on freedom of religion, concerning direct discriminatory practices and heavy-

handed State restrictions imposed on persons belonging to religious or belief minorities

who were alleged to be threats to the public order.

53. Several human rights treaty bodies addressed the situation of religious minorities.

For example, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended

taking all measures necessary to ensure the rights of ethno-religious minorities, including

their right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, without any discrimination.24

G. 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: leaving no one behind

54. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its overall focus on reducing

inequalities and leaving no one behind is of particular relevance to minorities. In its

resolution 37/14 on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and

linguistic minorities, the Human Rights Council welcomed the adoption of the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development, recalling that the Sustainable Development Goals

and targets seek to realize the human rights of all.

55. During the reporting period, OHCHR produced an updated guidance note on a

human rights-based approach to data,25 which includes specific recommendations to apply

the “do no harm” principle in data-collection activities, while ensuring the participation of

groups at risk of being left behind, including national, ethnic, religious and linguistic

minorities.

56. OHCHR continues to support country-led efforts to identify groups at risk of being

left behind, including national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as a preliminary

step to ensuring their meaningful participation in the implementation and measurement of

the 2030 Agenda. In March 2018, OHCHR conducted capacity-building activities with

United Nations, State and civil society stakeholders in Uganda on human rights indicators

and approaches to data in the Sustainable Development Goals. Part of the training focused

on identifying an illustrative list of groups at risk of being left behind in the country.

H. Minorities and migration

57. During the period under review, migrants who are members of minority groups have

faced violence and multiple forms of intersectoral discrimination.

58. In June 2018, a group of United Nations special procedure mandate holders issued a

public statement on the situation of migrants in the United States of America and the

Executive Order signed by the President on 20 June 2018. The vast majority of those

migrants were indigenous peoples or persons belonging to ethnic or racial groups

categorized as non-white in the United States. Therefore, the devastating effect of the

Executive Order had been largely reserved for children and families of indigenous peoples

and other non-white migrants.26

59. The Special Rapporteur on racism conducted an official visit to the United Kingdom

in May 2018 and raised serious concerns over its immigration policy. She also pointed to

concerns over widespread discrimination faced by ethnic minorities and over the

criminalization of young people belonging to ethnic minorities, especially young black

24 See, for example, CERD/C/SAU/CO/4-9, para. 24.

25 OHCHR, “A human rights-based approach to data: leaving no one behind in the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development” (2018).

26 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23245&LangID=E.

men. She cautioned that the country’s immigration policy was deeply connected to racial

inequality. She was deeply concerned about the policy in the anti-terrorism “Prevent”

Programme, which mandated civil servants, social workers, caregivers, educators and

others to make life-altering judgments on the basis of vague criteria, in a climate in which

entire religious, racial and ethnic groups were presumed to be enemies.27

60. The Special Rapporteur on racism, in her annual report to the Human Rights Council

(A/HRC/38/52), underlined that the relationship between racial and religious discrimination

was complex. For example, religious minorities might also be racially or ethnically distinct

in ways that made them vulnerable to racial discrimination that was formally achieved

through religious preferences. Racist and xenophobic speech and violence against racial

and other minorities, and against refugees and migrants in particular, had escalated in the

wake of the decision by the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, or “Brexit”, and

in national elections in Europe, North America and Australia.

61. At the regional level, the OHCHR Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

continued to advocate for the rights of migrants detained in Australian offshore processing

centres in Manus, Papua New Guinea, and Nauru. Some migrants belonging to minority

groups, such as the Hazara or Rohingya, are not recognized as citizens in their own country

and face a high threat of violence if they are deported.

62. The MINUJUSTH Human Rights Unit continued to monitor the impact of policies

and laws adopted by several States hosting Haitian migrants, which have resulted and are

likely to continue resulting in significant numbers of deportations and spontaneous returns

to Haiti. These States include the Dominican Republic,28 the Bahamas and the United

States. Deportations and spontaneous returns of Haitians have increased since the adoption

of those policies and laws. For example, ongoing tensions between the Dominican

population and Haitian migrants have prompted many Haitians to flee their host country out

of fear of violence. In August 2018, the National Regularization Plan for Foreigners,

adopted in November 2013 by the Government of the Dominican Republic, was terminated

after two extensions. Thousands of Haitians residing in the Dominican Republic are now

awaiting the outcome of their applications to regularize their situation.

I. Minorities and statelessness

63. A number of United Nations human rights mechanisms and various field presences

raised issues related to stateless minorities. Statelessness is a human rights issue

disproportionately affecting minorities around the world. According to a UNHCR report on

statelessness, more than 75 per cent of the world’s known stateless persons were members

of minority groups as at 2017.29

64. In his report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/37/66), the Special Rapporteur

on minority issues noted that statelessness would be a thematic priority for his mandate. In

his 2018 report to the General Assembly (A/73/205), which was dedicated to the issue, he

highlighted that stateless minorities were often doubly vulnerable. The discriminatory

denial or removal of citizenship could have long-lasting and extreme consequences for their

enjoyment of other rights or their access to various services. In addition, women belonging

to minorities might be further discriminated against in relation to the acquisition, change or

retention of nationality and the conferral of nationality on their children.

65. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues dedicated the eleventh session of the

Forum on Minority Issues,30 held in November 2018, to the topic of statelessness, a

minority issue. During the two-day meeting, participants aimed to identify the main

challenges faced by persons belonging to minorities in the context of statelessness and to

promote dialogue and cooperation in order to identify effective solutions.

27 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23074&LangID=E.

28 As at 2013, the Dominican Republic was hosting approximately 458,000 Haitians.

29 UNHCR, “‘This is our home’: stateless minorities and their search for citizenship” (2017). 30 Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 6/15 and 19/23.

66. The Special Rapporteur on racism, in her annual report to the Human Rights Council

(A/HRC/38/52), underlined that statelessness was often the result of long-standing

discrimination against, among others, racial and ethnic minorities, and religious groups. It

was often the foreseeable product of discriminatory laws, policies and practices that aimed

to exclude or have the effect of excluding people who were considered as foreign, often

based on their race, colour, descent, ethnicity, national origin or religion.

67. During the reporting period, OHCHR developed several initiatives on stateless

minorities. The OHCHR country office in Cambodia had continued to monitor the

challenges faced by certain vulnerable Vietnamese communities, both in the past and

present, in relation to their legal status. These challenges result in ineffective citizenship or

statelessness and affect their enjoyment of human rights, particularly their enjoyment of

economic, political and social rights, such as their participation in daily life and access to

State services, including birth registration, public education and health. Vietnamese

communities are the largest minority group living in Cambodia and they have been

subjected to discrimination, violence and displacement. Many are in a situation of

ineffective citizenship or statelessness. In this context, the Government has developed a

naturalization process that, if duly implemented, will allow Vietnamese communities living

in Cambodia the right to seek naturalization for the first time.

J. Linguistic rights

68. A number of United Nations human rights mechanisms and OHCHR field presences

raised issues regarding linguistic minorities.

69. During the update on the human rights situation in Ukraine at the thirty-seventh

session of the Human Rights Council, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for

Human Rights reminded the Council that the International Court of Justice had requested

that the Russian Federation ensure the availability of education in the Ukrainian language in

the Autonomous Republic of Crimea – a critical measure taken following the sharp

decrease in the number of children receiving teaching in Ukrainian. She said it was

encouraging that three months earlier, the Ministry of Education of Crimea had outlined a

new road map on the choice of language in education, which aimed to increase students’

access to education in their mother tongue.31

70. In May 2018, OHCHR delivered a training workshop in the Republic of Moldova

for Russian-speaking minority journalists on the Framework Convention for the Protection

of National Minorities. The workshop was attended by 15 journalists, some of whom had

disabilities, from different regions, including from rural areas.

71. In May 2018, UNMIK and the United Nations Kosovo team organized the United

Nations Kosovo Trust-Building Forum, with the participation of the European Union, the

European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo and the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. The

120 participants, more than half of whom were women, represented a broad cross section of

society in Kosovo,32 including leaders from municipal administrations, civil society,

academia, women’s and youth organizations and the Ministry of Communities and Returns

of Kosovo. The participants identified avenues to build greater trust between communities

in Kosovo, and established a platform for future action in fields such as good governance,

access to justice, interreligious trust-building, economic empowerment, the environment

and education. Cross-cutting issues included, among others, youth and linguistic rights.

72. The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, upon conclusion of her

mission to Serbia and Kosovo (A/HRC/37/55/Add.1), recommended that Serbia increase

access to bilingual education, in consultation with the minorities concerned, in order to

enable minority children to participate in wider society while still fully enjoying their

linguistic rights.

31 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22869&LangID=E. 32 All references to Kosovo in the present document should be understood to be in the context of United

Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

73. In a public statement upon conclusion of his official visit to Botswana in August

2018, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues pointed out that minorities living in remote

areas faced significant difficulties in accessing education. He recommended that the

Government of Botswana review policies that prevented the teaching of minority languages

and teaching in minority languages in both public and private schools.33

74. Several human rights treaty bodies addressed the situation faced by linguistic

minority groups. For example, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

recommended that States include national languages in their education systems for children

who wished to be taught in those languages, and ensure that the use of a particular language

did not lead to the exclusion of the group concerned.34

K. Human rights defenders

75. As custodian agency for indicator 16.10.1 of the Sustainable Development Goals,

OHCHR provided, for the first time, global data on the killing of human rights defenders in

the report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on progress towards the

Sustainable Development Goals (E/2018/64). The report showed that at least one human

rights defender had been killed every day since 2015. Among the victims were minority

rights advocates.

76. In May 2018, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia organized a regional

human rights defenders security platform meeting, gathering nearly 100 human rights

defenders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in cooperation with the

Kazakh NGO Kadyr-Kassiyet (“Dignity”) and with support from international and human

rights organizations. Together with the Assistant Secretary-General, human rights defenders

and security experts, the participants discussed key issues faced by human rights defenders

in Central Asia, including threats faced by organizations working with minority groups

such as ethnic minorities.

77. At the country level, Afro-Colombian organizations supported the preparations for

the universal periodic review of Colombia held in May 2018, during which they highlighted

the critical security situation of human rights defenders. They reported that between the

signing of the peace agreement in November 2016 and May 2018, approximately 282

human rights defenders had been killed. Antioquia, Cauca, Choco, Nariño, Putamayo and

Valle del Cauca were among the departments worst affected by that kind of violence and,

coincidentally, among the departments with the highest percentage of ethnic communities.

78. During 2018, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed

concern over the increasing number of incidents of harassment faced by civil society

organizations, human rights defenders and journalists, including those monitoring and

reporting on the situation of ethnic minorities, rendering the environment within which they

operated hostile.35

III. United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities

79. During the reporting period, as coordinator of the network, OHCHR published a

guidance tool on descent-based discrimination.36 In April 2018, it organized, in

collaboration with the International Movement against All Forms of Discrimination and

Racism, a subregional consultation in Japan on strengthening strategies to combat caste-

based and analogous forms of discrimination. The guidance tool, which had been translated

into Japanese, served as a guide on how best to tackle exclusion based on ancestry. A

33 See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=23471&LangID=E.

34 See, for example, CERD/C/MRT/CO/8-14, para. 18.

35 See, for example, CERD/C/KGZ/CO/8-10.

36 OHCHR, “Guidance tool on descent-based discrimination: key challenges and strategic approaches to

combat caste-based and analogous forms of discrimination” (2017).

member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination participated in the

consultation, which involved 42 participants predominantly from the Buraku community in

Japan and also from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Participants shared good

practices regarding the measures taken to eradicate discrimination against Dalit

communities, and highlighted the need to continue those practices. The consultation was

followed by a symposium in Tokyo attended by approximately 130 participants, including

around 10 members of the parliament, and representatives of the private business sector and

civil society.

IV. Conclusions

80. During 2018, persons belonging to minorities continued to face numerous and

recurrent significant human rights challenges in many parts of the world. Those

challenges included incitement to violence, sexual violence and attacks on the basis of

ethnicity and religion. In addition, hate speech and incitement to ethnic or religious

hatred, including among refugee and migrant populations, were among the challenges

faced by minorities. Roma communities continued to be subjected to violence,

systematic persecution, discrimination, prejudice, social exclusion and hate speech.

Incidents of discrimination in access to education, housing and employment, and a

lack of effective participation in public life were also reported. The Human Rights

Council and other United Nations human rights mechanisms continued to address

emerging and ongoing situations of oppression of and discrimination against ethnic

and religious minorities. They called upon States to effectively and promptly

investigate any crimes against Roma individuals and communities, including by

investigating any alleged discriminatory motive behind the attacks.

81. In this context, OHCHR continued to monitor the adoption and the impact of

policies that had resulted in widespread discrimination against and exclusion of

minorities. The Office also engaged in activities and strategies for the promotion and

inclusion of non-discrimination guarantees in order to fully implement the

Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and

Linguistic Minorities. Those measures included supporting policy and legislative

processes concerning persons belonging to minorities through the development of

anti-discrimination policies and laws, awareness-raising activities and data collection

analysis on racial profiling. OHCHR continued to support the efforts to advance truth

and reconciliation processes at the national and European levels in order to

acknowledge the persecution and exclusion of Roma communities, pursuant to the

European Parliament resolution of 25 October 2017.

82. OHCHR adopted a range of country, regional and global strategies to support

dialogue and activities with a wide range of stakeholders, with a view to combating

hate speech, promoting respect for religious diversity and dialogue, reflecting on the

importance of investing in minority youth, collecting disaggregated data on minorities

and encouraging their participation in decision-making processes.

83. Respect for religious diversity and dialogue, and for the participation of

minorities in various spheres of life, is essential for the development of a truly

inclusive society. OHCHR used the United Nations network on racial discrimination

and protection of minorities, and the framework in the Beirut Declaration on Faith

for Rights, for training and advocacy purposes with religious minorities, members of

civil society and United Nations human rights mechanisms.

84. Promoting minority rights requires the empowerment of minority youth and

minority youth leaders, enabling them to better claim their rights and therefore

fostering a more peaceful and stable society. In this regard, OHCHR continued to

support minority youth through the OHCHR Minority Fellowship Programme

(available to 40 participants in Arabic, English and Russian), with a view to investing

in their important role as active members of society and of minority communities in

certain regions. There is a need to create more space for minority rights advocacy

within civil society, and to make sure that efforts made by human rights defenders to

promote minority rights are supported, both nationally and internationally.

85. Recognizing that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development puts the

principles of equality and non-discrimination at its centre, OHCHR supported the

implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and their associated targets

relevant to minorities. It is essential to collect disaggregated data to be able to make a

comprehensive assessment of the extent and range of the challenges faced by

minorities, and yet, worldwide, data collection remains largely insufficient.