HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HOLDS INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE WITH SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON MINORITY ISSUES

The Human Rights Council in its midday meeting held an interactive dialogue with Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, Special Rapporteur on minority issues.

Presenting her reports, Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye raised concern that with increasing hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric and incitement to hatred against minorities, coupled with the rise of extremism and far-right political parties, the progress achieved during the past decades in the field of minority rights protection was under threat. Minorities remained among the poorest and the most socially and economically excluded and marginalized communities globally. She spoke about her country visits to Iraq, Republic of Moldova and Sri Lanka.

Iraq, Republic of Moldova and Sri Lanka spoke as concerned countries.

During the ensuing discussion, many delegations noted the effects that conflicts and crises such as the refugee and migrant crisis were having on minorities, and also stressed their shared concern with the Special Rapporteur over the increasing hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric and incitement to hatred against minorities. Countries from a wide geographic array warned against the rise of extreme ideologies and far-right parties. Some speakers suggested education could play a role in promoting inter-cultural harmony and tolerance in societies.

Speaking were the delegations of the European Union, Tunisia on behalf of the African Group, Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Slovenia, Russian Federation, Mexico, Venezuela, China, Benin, Ethiopia, Austria, Georgia, Switzerland, United States, Iraq, Hungary, Ukraine, Bolivia, Romania, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The following civil society organizations also took the floor: Association Solidarité Internationale pour l’Afrique, Advocates for Human Rights, Minority Rights Group, World Jewish Congress, Japanese Workers’ Committee for Human Rights, Asian Legal Resource Centre, Tourner la Page and World Environment and Resource Council.

The Council has a full day of meetings scheduled today. At 4 p.m., it will hear the introduction of reports of the Forum on Minority Issues; the Forum on Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law; the Social Forum; and the annual report of the Special Procedures, followed by a general debate on the agenda item on human rights bodies and mechanisms.


Documentation

The Council has before it the Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues (A/HRC/34/53).



The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues - Mission to Iraq (A/HRC/34/53/Add.1).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues - Mission to the Republic of Moldova (A/HRC/34/53/Add.2).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues - Mission to Sri Lanka (A/HRC/34/53/Add.3).

The Council has before it an addendum to the Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues - Comments by the Republic of Moldova (A/HRC/34/53/Add.4).



Presentation of Reports by the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

RITA IZSÁK-NDIAYE, Special Rapporteur on minority issues, raised concern that with increasing hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric and incitement to hatred against minorities, coupled with the rise of extremism and far-right political parties, the progress achieved during the past decades in the field of minority rights protection was under threat. She encouraged States to be as inclusive as possible when designing protection measures for all disadvantaged minorities within their territories, including migrant workers and newly arrived minorities. Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye was concerned that out of 10 million people deprived of nationality globally, most of them belonged to minorities. Specialized mechanisms needed to be put in place at all levels to facilitate legislative and policy development, and the design, implementation and monitoring of minority-related programmes. In the past six years the Special Rapporteur had been particularly alarmed by the limited, or often complete lack, of minority presence in political and public offices. She called for better inclusion of minorities in all decision-making processes, including in municipal and Government structures, law enforcement bodies, the judiciary, legislative bodies, criminal justice systems and all authorities. Minorities remained among the poorest and the most socially and economically excluded and marginalized communities globally. Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye firmly believed that the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development could only be achieved by taking into consideration the situation of minorities.

Turning to her country visit to Iraq, Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye noted that ethnic and religious communities there were facing an unprecedented crisis that threatened their continued existence in the country. They were brutally attacked by the so-called Islamic State of Da’esh. Strengthening an inclusive sense of Iraqi national identity and confronting sectarianism were essential for future peace, stability and social cohesion. Nevertheless, she had also found positive examples, such as communities helping and supporting each other across religious and ethnic divides. The primary responsibility for the protection of all its citizens lay with the Government of Iraq. During her visit to the Republic of Moldova, Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye observed that language issues, especially in the context of education, had featured prominently in the consultations she had held. The use of mother tongue was highly important and emotive for many communities and an essential aspect of personal and community identity. She had found that Roma experienced entrenched economic, social and political marginalization, and were disproportionately affected by poverty and were often victims of discrimination. Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye encouraged the Moldovan Government to identify solutions for sustainable funding of Roma mediators and to allocate funds for the implementation of the Roma Inclusion Action Plan which had been adopted in 2016. As for her visit to Sri Lanka, the Special Rapporteur said that it had been evident that the long conflict and the prevailing culture of impunity had created a clear trust deficit vis-à-vis the State, as well as between communities in the country. Unless those critical issues which were among the most pressing and emotive, especially for the Tamil and Muslim communities – such as demilitarization, disappeared persons, land return and security-related detainees – were immediately addressed, there was a real risk that the hard-earned momentum would be lost.

Ms. Izsák-Ndiaye had also conducted a detailed analysis of communications looking into urgent appeals and letters of allegation sent since the inception of the mandate until 1 December 2016. She had contacted all States that had been officially visited by her predecessor and herself to follow up on the developments relevant to the findings and recommendations of country reports. She had also conducted a second round of research analysing minority-related recommendations made during the second cycle of the Universal Periodic Review.

Statements by Concerned Countries

Iraq, speaking as a concerned country, expressed support and agreement with the report by the Special Rapporteur, particularly in its sections on crimes of Da’esh against minorities. The Constitution enshrined the right to freedom of religion for Christians and other components of the society. Social components faced violence by terrorist groups, which accused members of religious groups of being non-believers. The army had made a commitment to fight terrorists and enable the return of all people to their homes. The national unity was epitomised in the right against terrorism, which was evidenced by the presence of Christians, Yazidis and other minorities as soldiers in the army. The report mentioned that the plight of minorities had not started with Da’esh and Iraq reiterated that the majority of crimes against different social components were being committed by terrorists. With regard to crimes against Yazidis, the Government had tried to look and search for the abductees and liberate them. Parliament had also declared that the crimes against the Yazidis were a genocide.

Republic of Moldova, speaking as a concerned country, said that since the Special Rapporteur’s visit, the Republic of Moldova had adopted the Strategy for Interethnic Consolidation 2017-2027 which would consolidate the national mechanism for the respect of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, facilitate integration in public life, and achieve inter-ethnic harmony in the Republic of Moldova. The Bureau for Interethnic Relations was the central institution for policy making, implementation and monitoring of Government policies and national and international legislation on the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. With regards to the human rights situation in Transnistria, where Moldovans constituted the majority of the population, Moldova said that the absence of effective control by the constitutional authorities hindered the implementation of recommendations made by various international partners. The de facto authorities, the Tiraspol, did not take effective measures to comply with the multiple judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, the viable mechanism for monitoring of human rights was lacking, and commitments agreed to in the negotiating process were breached.

Sri Lanka, speaking as a concerned country, said the visit of the Special Rapporteur had been timely as the Government and people of Sri Lanka had embarked on a historic journey to achieve durable peace, reconciliation and development. The National Unity Government in office since 2015 had provided the country with stability and strength for policymaking and reform. Sri Lanka was a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious country. Dialogue took place to ensure interethnic harmony and understanding amongst all communities. Tamil had been made an official language of the country, and Tamil-speaking public servants and police officers had been recruited and trained to serve the public in the north and the east. Sri Lanka was committed to building a society where appointments to public institutions and public office were made on the basis of merit and were not influenced by considerations such as ethnicity, religion, class or gender. In the post-conflict phase, Sri Lanka had seen an increase in women-headed households. A National Human Rights Action Plan included measures to reduce poverty among those households. The Government was mindful of concerns regarding certain personal and customary laws having a discriminatory impact on women in particular.

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues

European Union warned of the gap between the principles contained in the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and the daily reality of many persons belonging to minorities. What were the lessons learned and practical challenges for the implementation of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate? Tunisia, speaking on behalf of the African Group, stated that empathy, understanding and acceptance of minorities that found themselves in humanitarian crises remained crucial to ensuring stability. Organization of Islamic Cooperation shared the concern of the Special Rapporteur over the increasing hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric and incitement to hatred against minorities. It was indeed regrettable that such manifestations of Islamophobia were increasing.

Slovenia said it was particularly troubled that ethnic, religious and other minorities were disproportionately affected in situations of humanitarian crises and were often overrepresented among internally displaced persons. Russian Federation commended the efforts of the Special Rapporteur to devote attention to the plight of Christian minorities in the Middle East, and expressed hope that she would pay attention to the efforts of authorities in the Baltics and Ukraine to limit the rights of Russian speakers. Mexico warned against the rise of extreme ideologies and far-right parties. What were the best international practices in confronting discrimination against minorities?

Venezuela was concerned about messages of hatred and xenophobia against minorities and urged the international community to take measures to protect the progress made in the protection of the rights of national minorities, not only through poverty eradication but also though eliminating violence and discrimination. China said it was a multi-ethnic nation which exercised ethnic autonomy and ensured the right of minorities to participate on an equal basis as majority groups, and had adopted the plan of the development of ethnic regions which gave priority attention to the livelihoods of minorities and the preservation of the environment. Benin warned of the resurgence of speech promoting hatred and discrimination based on national and ethnic grounds, and stressed the need to protect the rights of minorities, especially in humanitarian crises. Benin stressed the role of education in promoting inter-cultural harmony and tolerance in societies.

Ethiopia agreed that for minorities, language was a central element for their expression of their identity and was of key importance in the preservation of the group identity, and also concurred on the need to fight discrimination against minorities and their protection in times of disasters. Austria noted that 25 years after its adoption, the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to Minorities was not satisfactory. Persecution, discrimination and marginalization of minorities based on their ethnic identity, religious beliefs or nationality were on the rise in many parts of the world. Georgia said it had adopted the anti-discrimination law and the strategy for equality and civic integration 2015-2020. The strategy was based on the principle of equal treatment to guarantee the full participation of minorities in public life and to preserve their culture and identity.

Switzerland said diversity was a source of wealth, and asked the Special Rapporteur which conclusions she could draw after having spent six years in her mandate. She was also asked how the international community, the United Nations and States could better support civil society working on minority issues. United States agreed that States bore the primary responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights of all individuals within their societies, and asked the Special Rapporteur what the main obstacles were to the assertion of political will to foster the conditions for a cohesive society and how those obstacles could be overcome. Iraq said the country had always been known for its plurality, and said a commission had been set up to help the Yazidi minority, working closely with them.

Hungary expressed concern at disturbing patterns of attacks and violence against members of religious minorities, particularly against Christian communities, and expressed support for Ms. Iszak-Ndiaye’s candidature for membership in the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for the term 2018-2021. Ukraine said the human rights situation in the illegally occupied Crimea had not improved since the Special Rapporteur’s visit to Ukraine, and expressed hope that the situation of minorities in Crimea would continue to be in the focus of attention of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. Bolivia said that the promotion and protection of human rights of persons belonging to minorities was part of the protection of society as a whole, and Bolivia shared the concern of the Special Rapporteur when she referred to incitement to hatred vis-à-vis minorities and the rise of extremism.

Latvia noted that its society had always been multicultural with ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity that was accepted, respected and cherished. It agreed that minorities remained among the poorest and most excluded and marginalized communities. Romania stressed that it was necessary to promote and protect the rights of minorities, but also to integrate them in the societies to which they belonged. The model of inter-culturalism advocated by Romania fully responded to the need for the conservation and assertion of the specific identity of minorities. Azerbaijan regretted the increased hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric and incitement to hatred against minorities which had become a trend in some parts of the world. Full effect was given to the rights of minorities in Azerbaijan to establish their own schools, national cultural centres and associations. Armenia noted that minorities had been targeted and persecuted throughout history. Unless the past crimes against minorities were properly acknowledged, there could be no prospect for genuine reconciliation.

Association Solidarité Internationale pour l’Afrique drew attention to the impact of war on Tamils in Sri Lanka. Eight years after the formal end of the war against the Tamil nation, impunity persisted and the situation remained grave for Tamil women. Advocates for Human Rights, in a joint statement, recalled that communal violence in India had increased. Attacks against Muslims had been encouraged by political leaders, and law enforcement agencies fabricated terrorism cases where Muslims were often targets.

Minority Rights Group stressed that disrespect for minority rights was at the heart of many of the greatest human rights challenges today. Persecution of religious and ethnic groups was on the increase, due to a rise in religious extremism, but also due to State repression and State-sponsored sectarian or nationalist policies that targeted minority communities. World Jewish Congress was alarmed by the increase in hate speech, xenophobia and incitement to violence against minorities, and agreed that minorities were often used as scapegoats by far-right and extremist political parties, to divert public attention from domestic challenges. A dramatic increase in verbal and physical attacks targeting Jewish communities in the United States, United Kingdom and France was of concern. Japanese Workers’ Committee for Human Rights drew attention to hate speech rallies against permanent Korean residents in Japan by right-wing groups which called them Korean Cockroaches. The Government did not take any measures to prevent hate crimes and hate speech, noting that those were freedom of expression.

Asian Legal Resource Centre said that the violation and discrimination of minorities in Asian countries could only be addressed with State participation and functioning justice frameworks that would make discrimination and oppression of minorities an offence and actionable claim. Tourner la Page recalled that the Special Rapporteur had urged the mapping of all the land currently used by the military in Sri Lanka and that private land be returned to their rightful owners. The Tamil places of worship occupied and deliberately destroyed must be rehabilitated and returned to their owners. World Environment and Resource Council spoke about persecution and violence against ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, against Kurds and non-Muslims, in Pakistan, and in Syria where ISIS acted against Christians and took non-Muslim women as sex slaves.

Concluding Remarks

RITA IZSÁK-NDIAYE, Special Rapporteur on minority issues, said that following her visit to a camp for internally displaced persons where she had heard from Yazidi women, she would always advocate for accountability, urging Iraq to accede to the Rome Statute. She thanked the Republic of Moldova for updating the Council on its minority strategy. To Sri Lanka, she said that she had met with a large number of delegations and civil society who again expressed their frustration over the slow progress and called for urgent measures. Some urgent measures that the Government should take as soon as possible included repealing the prevention of terrorism act. Regarding the issue of migration and challenges around it, she noted that while increased diversity brought new challenges, pluralism was not a new phenomenon. She thanked non-governmental organizations that had raised the need for country visits, saying there were countries of high concern that the mandate could not access.

Lastly, she added a personal note upon leaving her mandate, noting that when she was appointed as Special Rapporteur, she had been 30 year old and that she had had two children during her term. That was how she had discovered there were no arrangements for maternity leave for mandate holders, no nursing rooms on the premises of the United Nations Office at Geneva, and that babies were forbidden in the Human Rights Council’s meeting room. She urged the United Nations Office at Geneva to establish a nursing room and consider a more generous policy when caretakers accompanied mandate holders with infants. The per cent of women mandate holders was currently at 41 per cent, so it was necessary to attract more of them.



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HRC17/042E