Attention to minority issues is crucial for long-term sustainability of peace and development. This is because minority identities can be used as fault lines of conflict and because minority inclusion helps create stability. Historical patterns of exclusion of minorities that cause conflict may re-emerge if not adequately addressed.

The joint UNDP, World Bank and UNDG Practical Guide to Multilateral Needs Assessments in Post-Conflict Situations (August 2004), identifies conflict factors that have roots in minority rights violations, such as unequal access to land and education, weak political participation and  discrimination:

Conflict is also likely to resume where the root causes of the conflict remain unchanged. These may include unequal access to land, education and services, the discrimination of certain religious, ethnic or regional groups, competition over natural resources or resentment caused by bad governance. To sustain the peace process, conflict parties need to be confident early on that their grievances will be addressed. The PCNA [Post-conflict Needs Assessment] should identify key grievances that could re-ignite conflict and propose actions that the national authorities and international community can undertake to mitigate them. (p.14)

The protection of minority rights is a crucial factor in preventing conflict and in promoting sustainable peace when conflict has occurred. The UN Peacebuilding Commission recommends that to help prevent conflict within and between countries “the United Nations should build on the experience of regional organizations in developing frameworks for minority rights”.29

Linking minority rights with conflict prevention and recovery

Violations of minority rights often lead to conflict: The four key pillars of minority rights – protection of existence, non-discrimination, protection of identity and participation – each have a role to play in maintaining stability in countries. When these rights are violated, tensions can emerge and when exacerbated can lead to violent conflict. The connection between minority rights and conflict are evident in many ways, including:

Protection of existence: minorities are often the targets of violence in situations of conflict or as the parties to the conflict. MRG reports, “Such violence may arise from dislike of the community, from the minority being a useful scapegoat, or from a desire to drive out or destroy the community, in the name of ethnic or religious purity, or simply to grab their property and resources” (Baldwin et al 2007, p. 32). In most cases of genocide or ethnic cleansing, national, ethnic or religious minorities are the victims. The human security of minorities requires action against impunity, a police force that fulfills its obligations to protect minorities, equal access to justice for crimes committed against minorities and vigilantly enforced laws that prevent and punish actions like hate speech and hate crimes that can instigate violence against minorities.

Non-discrimination: Direct and indirect discrimination against minorities can stimulate violent conflict. Discrimination is a key factor in social exclusion and has given rise to group violence in numerous cases by stimulating resentment from excluded minorities.

Protection of identity: Violations of identity rights are powerful sources of grievance and exclusion. The right of minorities to freely express their culture, language and religion is often violated in the name of social cohesion and security, yet typically has the opposite effect. In the experiences of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, “a minority that has the opportunity to fully develop its identity is more likely to remain loyal to the State than a minority who is denied its identity”.30 Constitutional recognition of minority identities, coupled with strong policies for protecting the freedom of minorities to express their identity and support to promoting their identity can facilitate integration and promote stability.

Political participation: When minorities have weak political participation, they lack a political pathway to peacefully raise and resolve their grievances. Minorities have a right to participate in decision-making that will affect them and these processes can help militate against policy decisions that will create tensions with minority groups. Minorities may not always achieve the policy outcomes they desire, but where they have been involved in genuine participatory decision-making, the opportunity to have their voice heard can go a long way in preventing tension and possible conflict. Denial of political participation for minorities, such as through restrictive citizenship policies, can severely exacerbate existing tensions and reduce minorities’ loyalty to the State. It can also send a signal to society that minorities are not part of the national community, thus leading the way for potential violence.

There are clear links between violations of minority rights and the increased likelihood of conflict Protecting minority rights can help prevent conflict

Early warning by monitoring minority rights:

Awareness of the situation of minorities is a useful tool for early warning to prevent conflict. Discrimination against minorities and violations of minority rights often increase in situations of immediate pre-conflict, taking such forms as:

• hate speech between groups, especially by politicians;
• gradual processes of demonization/dehumanization of minorities, especially in the media or education;
• increased incidence of sexual violence/ harassment towards minority women;
• passing of laws that restrict cultural or religious expression by minority groups;
• random violence against minorities or their property;
• denial of citizenship or mother tongue education to minorities;
• land rights disputes;
• gross economic inequalities between groups.

Recognizing the role hate speech has played in conflicts and genocide, both ICERD and the ICCPR require signatories to prohibit advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence. In 2005, CERD recognized the importance of hate speech when it developed indicators to help it to identify the early signs of genocide, when examining a government’s record towards eliminating racial discrimination.

Crisis and violent conflict has a differential impact on minorities:

Minority communities are particularly vulnerable during times of crisis. The position of marginalisation in which many minorities live means that any instability within a country can push them beyond their means to survive or to protect their communities. Minorities often become internally displaced persons or refugees, which can impact on inter-communal dynamics in neighbouring countries.

Some conflicts in the recent past have been characterized by ethnic cleansing. Even in cases where minority issues were not at the centre of the conflict, violent conflict provides a fertile ground for minority groups to be classified as ‘disloyal’ making oppression and expulsion easier. Minorities may simply flee the war, but find their property and homes have been seized making return unlikely due to their weaker access to justice and security.

Minority women may also be particularly vulnerable during and after conflict as targets of rape or human trafficking.

Minority issues are not systematically addressed in post-conflict recovery:

Post-conflict recovery is a window of opportunity for addressing minority grievances and realizing protection of minority rights. Post-conflict contexts pose a particularly difficult challenge: during times of conflict, identities tend to be ‘simplified’, made one-dimensional, normally emphasizing the identity that is at the core of the conflict (e.g. religious identity, ethnic identity). Women belonging to minorities may often feel this narrowing of identities most acutely, as they may be required to suppress their specific grievances (including repression from within the community) in the name of prioritizing the ‘more pressing’ conflict with the State. Power-sharing agreements that are intended to bring conflicts to an end might contribute to fixing and simplifying identities, and work against the multiple, cross-cutting identities that help to emphasise what people have in common rather than what divides them.

The exclusion of minorities from peace processes exacerbates this divide. While some measures are needed to secure a peace agreement, the exclusion of minorities from temporary peacemaking arrangements tend to become permanent. These arrangements will undermine long-term integration and social cohesion, laying the ground for future conflict.

Ignoring minority concerns in crisis and conflict recovery can reignite tensions in the future. Smaller minority groups and minority women are often overlooked in crisis and conflict recovery

“Do no harm” development for minorities:

Development programmes that are insensitive to the particular issues of minorities may ‘do harm’ by promoting and reinforcing tensions. Badly planned economic and development policies and programmes can deepen inequalities, entrench power and economic hierarchies, and stimulate or aggravate inter-ethnic tensions leading to conflict. Development that clashes with the priorities and needs of minorities, such as through the appropriation of lands, could lead to development conflict. Project aid also can exacerbate tensions among different groups if the project is vulnerable to ethnic distortion by individuals and groups involved in its implementation.

Development programmes that aim to reinforce the rights of minorities may also do harm if they consider the issues of minorities disconnected from the overall context. In order to be conflict-sensitive, development interventions could take account of broader identity- and social- dynamics when considering minority issues.

Minority issues need to be understood in the context of multiple identities. There is a danger that pro-minority policies and programmes may create an identity discourse that privileges one dimension of identity over other dimensions. For example, strong policies for the social inclusion of ethnic minorities could put the focus of public attention entirely on ethnicity. Such policies run the risk of jeopardizing the inclusion of people who, for example, define themselves mainly in terms of being members of a minority religion. At the same time, social cohesion is dependent upon all individuals feeling committed to a common national identity that is meaningful and relevant to them. This requires full acknowledgement of cultural, religious and linguistic diversity within the State.

In Fiji, a Peace Stability and Development Analysis (PSDA) facilitated by UNDP in 2005 found that one-dimensional international and national assertion of indigenous rights may have had backlash effects on the overall social cohesion. The methods of championing indigenous rights led to the exclusion of other minority groups from political participation and economic rights, increasing ethnic polarization. In connection with the PSDA process, representatives from all communities came together to elaborate their ‘Vision for Fiji’, one that was inclusive of all ethnic and religious identities while at the same time building an overarching multicultural Fijian identity: “where the rich ethnic and historical heritage of its peoples is celebrated; people work together for national development and there is a strong civic pride in being a Fijian citizen” (UNDP Fiji 2005). They recommended a series of confidence-building measures to bring together divided ethnic and religious communities for dialogue and cooperation. This approach worked well in the Fijian context and was developed by the communities directly; in other contexts, dynamics will differ and so might the outcomes. The bottom line is to ensure that minority and majority communities have an equal opportunity to contribute to their collective vision of peace.

To improve conflict sensitivity in dealing with minorities, an analysis that identifies issues, risks and vulnerabilities related to minorities in the overall context is needed. With this information, actors are better positioned to define possible responses both in terms of specific programmes addressing minority issues and re-adaptation of existing mainstream programmes.

Minorities being targeted as the beneficiaries of programmes can sometimes lead to tensions, especially where the relatively less well-off feel that they will suffer as a result. Minority groups encourage governments and other actors to adopt transparent and inclusive strategies for elaborating development interventions. This transparency can mitigate concerns of other (majority) communities by outlining clear justifications for targeted programmes for minorities where needed and to create opportunities for integration of minority concerns into mainstream development interventions. The balance between these two approaches is determined by the needs of the respective communities, their rights and their expressed interests (see section 5.2 of this Guide and Table 5).

In the post-conflict situation in Nepal, UNDP analysis recommended to consider targeting programmes in favour of the excluded groups in order to compensate for their disadvantage. In particular, it was recommended to deliberately target villages with a higher proportion of underprivileged ethnicities and lower castes. UNDP programmes have begun reorienting to this by including percentages of ethnic minorities as a criterion for selecting the inclusion of new villages and implementing positive discrimination policies.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to recovery from inter-ethnic conflict. At a minimum, the basic minority rights to exist, to non-discrimination, to protection of identity and to participation need to be guaranteed.

Adopting minority-sensitive crisis prevention and recovery strategies:

Foster dialogue:

The establishment of mechanisms at the local and national level for redressing grievances expressed by minorities could prevent wider conflict. Of central importance are complaints mechanisms to address discrimination (past and present) and participation mechanisms to enable minority voices to be heard in decision-making and through inter-communal dialogue. These mechanisms can help prevent the use of coercive assimilation policies and elaborate voluntary integrative policies.

Promote reconciliation:

Where crises have led to conflict between minorities or with majorities, international actors could assume a role in supporting reconciliation between the government and minority groups, where requested. It is a difficult task to restore confidence in the legitimacy of national unity but respect for minority rights is an essential element of any programme of reconciliation and sustainable peace. The reconstruction can consider the demand for new or improved structures for minority participation in decision-making, including establishment of some form of regional or cultural autonomy where appropriate and a national representative body on minorities where necessary. This can also be a feature of any post-conflict constitutional reform, along with more general protection measures for minorities. There is no one-size-fits-all approach but ensuring the basic minimum protection of minority rights to exist, to non-discrimination, to protection of identity and to participation are the guiding principles to inform policy and institutional responses.

Reconciliation processes after ethnic or religious civil conflicts are extremely challenging. Such conflicts may stem from long historical grievances and in the worst cases will entail gross human rights violations and even genocide. New governments may prefer a strategy of building a new national identity that officially recognizes no distinctions between communities as a means of preventing future inter-communal violence. In such cases, it is important to be sensitive to the healing process that is behind such strategies, while still working to ensure basic minority rights protection.

There is also a tendency in post-conflict situations for only those minorities directly party to the conflict to be supported in the rehabilitation process. Smaller minorities might be overlooked, even though they have usually suffered greater marginalisation in the conflict and been the targets of violence and blame by all parties.

Smaller minorities might also have difficulty in accessing relief efforts on an equal basis after natural disaster because of discrimination or the distance to locations where they live.

Minority women might not have equal opportunities to participate in peace-building initiatives or adequate support for the peace initiatives they lead. Minority women might also be particularly vulnerable during and after conflict as targets of rape or human trafficking.

UNDP could play an important part in advocating for the integration of marginalised minorities and minority women into rehabilitation and reconstruction initiatives.

Information to prevent crisis:

Early Warning Report (EWR) evaluates potential crisis situations. Some reports include analysis of relations between minority and majority groups and provide useful information on points of tension in these relations. The EWRs can be a useful tool.

Assist in the return of displaced minorities:

The task of supporting return of displaced minority groups has often proven a very difficult and complex issue. The human security of minorities is very uncertain in regions from which they have been forced out, either directly or indirectly. Return and restoration of properties is a high priority for displaced persons. Therefore, reintegrating minorities into multi-ethnic communities will require great sensitivity and commitment on the part of international agencies and governments. Housing and property restoration issues will need to be managed in a fair manner, recognizing that returnees have rights that should be respected.

Support could be provided through the provision of transparent information about the process of return and the distribution of resources to support returning families from all minority (and majority) communities and garnering the necessary political will for return to occur in a timely, transparent and equitable manner.

Promote access to justice for minorities:
In security sector reform, efforts can be made to include minorities amongst new security and justice personnel, including human rights training and monitoring of security forces’ relations with minority communities. Creating Ombudsperson offices and similar complaints mechanisms to militate against discrimination will help to improve access to justice for all groups.

Support local ownership over reconciliation:
Minority representatives recommend that local CSOs be involved as much as possible in sustainable peacebuilding initiatives. In some cases, governments will find it difficult to accept cooperation with communities that had segments of their populations acting as combatants, terrorists or calling for secession. It is possible to identify CSOs that are promoting genuinely non-violent and constructive peace-building initiatives. Use can be made also of traditional dispute resolution and reconciliation mechanisms followed by minority communities.

Support impartial delivery of the resources:
There can be perceived inequalities in the allocation of reconstruction or humanitarian aid resources. It is important that government and international actors be transparent and communicate clearly their objectives in such circumstances, taking steps to mitigate any tensions between communities that may result from intervention. The early involvement of men and women from minority groups in planning reconstruction is a vital step, not least because it gives all groups the chance to work together in rebuilding their communities.

Special attention to how projects impact differentially on minority and majority groups can help prevent harm and conflict. Transparency and participation in development planning can militate against harm.

Back to top