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The mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues complements and enhances the work of other UN bodies and mechanisms that address minority rights and minority issues, including the Forum on Minority Issues and the treaty monitoring bodies. The Independent Expert can consult directly with governments and may take into account the views of NGOs, offering a unique opportunity for constructive engagement in country situations.
The Commission on Human Rights, in Resolution 2005/79, established the mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues:
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To promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, including through consultations with Governments, taking into account existing international standards and national legislation concerning minorities;
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To identify best practices and possibilities for technical cooperation by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the request of Governments;
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To apply a gender perspective in his or her work;
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To cooperate closely, while avoiding duplication, with existing relevant United Nations bodies, mandates and mechanisms, as well as regional organizations;
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To take into account the views of NGOs on matters pertaining to her mandate. |
The Independent Expert is guided by international standards relating to the rights of minorities, including the UN Declaration on the Rights of National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and provisions of other international treaties specifically relating to minority rights, including article 27 of the ICCPR and article 30 of the CRC. The Independent Expert notes that the rights guaranteed in all other UN human rights conventions apply equally to members of minority groups. In addition, other existing regional human and minority rights instruments and mechanisms including, for example, the Council of Europe’s 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities may be applied. The work of treaty-monitoring bodies also provides valuable sources of expertise, including authoritative interpretations of standards relevant to minorities. The Independent Expert has developed a strong collaboration with CERD.
The independent expert has identified four broad areas of concern relating to minorities around the world, based on the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities and other relevant international standards relating to minority rights:
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protecting a minority’s survival, including through protection of their physical integrity and the prevention of genocide;
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protecting and promoting cultural and social identity, including the right of individuals to choose which ethnic, linguistic or religious groups they wish to be identified with, and the right of those groups to affirm and protect their collective identity and to reject forced assimilation;
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ensuring effective non-discrimination and equality, including ending structural or systemic discrimination; and
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ensuring effective participation of members of minorities in public life, especially with regard to decisions that affect them.
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The Independent Expert also takes note of the collective nature of minority rights. This is important for the promotion and protection of minority identity and visibility, for the informed participation of these groups in decisions that affect their rights and resources, and for securing collective claims to linguistically and culturally appropriate education, land and other shared assets. While the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities examines rights that may be claimed by individual members of minority communities, those claims will often require the State to ensure the existence or identity of the group as a whole.
The Independent Expert employs various methods of work in order to achieve the most effective results. These include consultation with governments, including through communications (allegation letters and urgent appeals) and country visits. Such communications, often sent jointly with other mandates, are based on information received from a variety of sources, including NGOs and representatives of minority communities. Since 2005, the Independent Expert has conducted country visits to the Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guyana, Hungary and Kazakhstan. During country visits, consultations are held with various stakeholders, including senior government representatives, CSOs, minority groups, UN agencies, bodies and mechanisms, regional and other intergovernmental organizations, and academic, legal, research and policy development centres. The Independent Expert also convenes expert consultations, seminars and workshops linked to thematic priorities, with the aim of developing recommendations and guidelines. The Independent Expert reports annually to the Human Rights Council.
Given the breadth of work that demands attention with respect to minority issues, the initial work of the Independent Expert focused on three broad strategic priorities:
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To increase the focus on minority communities in the context of poverty alleviation and development
The Independent Expert is concerned that minorities and other marginalised communities are failing to benefit from international efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. In her report to the Human Rights Council in 2007, the Expert highlights that poverty is both a cause and a manifestation of the diminished rights, opportunities and social advancement available to members of minority communities. She notes the need to work closely with States and all other development actors, including minorities themselves, to promote programmes, policies and activities that fully take into account the needs and rights of minorities. She has identified UNDP as a key UN agency for close collaboration, and seeks to identify successful practices and implementation strategies, including poverty reduction strategies, to assist States in their consideration of minority issues. Full and effective participation of minorities in framing the policies and decisions that affect them is a guiding principle of the Independent Expert’s work. She also considers that the collection and use of disaggregated data, which reveals inequalities between communities, to be an important tool in the development field and for minority communities generally. She is working to promote the importance of appropriate disaggregated data and to deliver technical assistance to States in this respect.
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To increase the understanding of minority issues in the context of ensuring stable societies
Minority rights, inclusion and equality play an important role in the promotion of political and social stability, and peace. This has been recognized at the highest level of the UN and is stated in the outcome document of the 2005 World Summit of Heads of State and Government, approved by the General Assembly. The implementation of law and policy relevant to inclusion and equality, and effective strategies for social cohesion, are therefore important goals for the Independent Expert. The Independent Expert recognizes that exclusion, discrimination and racism directed at minority groups may result in social unrest. There is a need to better understand the causes and prevalence of discrimination against minorities in order to effectively address such situations. The Independent Expert highlights to States the significant benefits of legislative and policy reform that seeks to promote effective strategies of social cohesion, equality and non-discrimination. She also recognizes the need for mechanisms, including indicators, which may act as early warning systems for potential conflict situations.
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To mainstream the consideration of minority issues within the work of the United Nations and other important multilateral forums
In the Independent Expert’s annual report to the Human Rights Council in 2008, the thematic focus was on issues relating to the discriminatory denial or deprivation of citizenship as a tool for exclusion of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. The report notes that minorities often face discrimination and exclusion, and they struggle to gain access to their human rights, even under conditions of full and unquestioned citizenship. Denying or stripping them of citizenship can be an effective method of compounding their vulnerability, and can even lead to mass expulsion. Many minorities live in a precarious legal situation because, even though they may be entitled under law to citizenship in the State in which they live, they are often denied or deprived of that right and may in fact exist in a situation of statelessness. While many conditions give rise to the creation of statelessness, most stateless persons today are members of minority groups.
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