In almost every country in the world, minorities and indigenous peoples suffer greater ill-health and receive poorer quality of care than other segments of the population. They die younger, face higher rates of disease and struggle more to access health services compared to the rest of the population. This year's edition of State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples presents a global picture of the health issues experienced by minorities and indegenous communities, features country profiles and case studies, and makes recommendations for addressing these key issues.
This is the first book that documents poverty systematically for the world's indigenous peoples in developing regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The volume compiles results for roughly 85 percent of the world's indigenous peoples. It draws on nationally representative data to compare trends in countries' poverty rates and other social indicators with those for indigenous sub-populations and provides comparable data for a wide range of countries all over the world. It estimates global poverty numbers and analyzes other important development indicators, such as schooling, health, and social protection. Provocatively, the results show a marked difference in results across regions, with rapid poverty reduction among indigenous (and non-indigenous) populations in Asia contrasting with relative stagnation - and in some cases falling back - in Latin America and Africa. Two main factors motivate the book. First, there is a growing concern among poverty analysts worldwide that countries with significant vulnerable populations - such as indigenous peoples - may not meet the Millennium Development Goals, and thus there exists a consequent need for better data tracking conditions among these groups. Second, there is a growing call by indigenous organizations, including the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Peoples, for solid, disaggregated data analyzing the size and causes of the "development gap."
Around the planet, Indigenous people are using old and new technologies to amplify their voices and broadcast information to a global audience. This is the first portrait of a powerful international movement that looks both inward and outward, helping to preserve ancient languages and cultures while communicating across cultural, political, and geographical boundaries. Based on more than twenty years of research, observation, and work experience in Indigenous journalism, film, music, and visual art, this volume includes specialized studies of Inuit in the circumpolar north, and First Nations peoples in the Yukon and southern Canada and the United States.
In a context of rapid growth, an increasing proportion of minorities and indigenous peoples are now living in urban areas. But while they offer the possibility of greater freedoms, improved livelihoods and more equitable opportunities, cities often magnify existing patterns of discrimination and insecurity. This year's edition of State of the world's minorities and indigenous peoples explores the many challenges communities face in urban areas, from segregation and lack of services to targeted violence and exclusion. Nevertheless, the volume also includes numerous cases of minorities and indigenous peoples achieving better social and political outcomes for themselves in cities, as well as examples of the substantial benefits their inclusion can bring to the entire urban population.
The unique cultures of minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide – spanning a wide variety of customs and practices – are under threat. This year’s edition of State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples highlights the impact of land dispossession, forced assimilation and other forms of discrimination on the most fundamental aspects of their identity, including language, art, traditional knowledge and spirituality. But while the effects of this attrition can be devastating, minority and indigenous cultures have also been critical in strengthening communities and providing activists with a platform to fight for their rights. As this volume illustrates, ensuring that the cultural freedoms of minorities and indigenous peoples are protected is essential if their other rights are also to be respected.
Across the world, minorities and indigenous peoples are disproportionately exposed to hatred. From intimidation and verbal abuse to targeted violence and mass killing, this hatred often reflects and reinforces existing patterns of exclusion. The impacts also extend beyond the immediate effects on individual victims to affect entire communities - in the process further marginalizing them from basic services, participation and other rights. This year's edition of State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples highlights how hate speech and hate crime, though frequently unreported or unacknowledged, continue to impact on every aspect of their lives. The volume also documents many of the initiatives being taken to promote positive change and the different ways that governments, civil society and communities can strengthen protections for minorities and indigenous peoples. An exploration of key issues such as hate crime and hate speech, as well as ways to counter their prevalence. The dynamics of targeted attacks and hate speech in conflict situations, as well as the particular vulnerability of minority and indigenous women. A global examination of the legal standards in the area of hate crime legislation. Interviews and case studies from minorities and indigenous communities, including examples of grassroots organizations working to improve their protection and representation. Overviews of the human rights context for minorities and indigenous peoples in every major world region. Peoples under Threat 2014 - MRG's unique statistical analysis and ranking of the vulnerability of minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide. An invaluable reference for policy makers, academics, journalists and everyone who is interested in the human rights situation of minorities and indigenous peoples around the world.
This report provides an overview of the present situation of minority and indigenous peoples’ rights in Russia. It examines the difficulties in the implementation of international mechanisms for minority and indigenous protection, with a focus on the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities, although other international standards (emanating from the OSCE and United Nations) are also taken into account. In particular, the report considers the complexities in the participation of civil society in international monitoring mechanisms. Following an introduction and an overview of domestic and international legislation, the report provides: a) an overview of the main problems confronting minorities and indigenous peoples in Russia; and b) an outline of the factors affecting the implementation of international mechanisms on minority and indigenous protection. It ends with a series of recommendations to improve the participation, recognition and treatment of minorities and indigenous peoples in the country.
Though the fifteen years of the Millennium Development Goals have seen some positive progress in areas such as health and education, minorities and indigenous peoples have often been excluded from these benefits. This short information pack, Minorities, Indigenous Peoples and the Post-2015 Framework, outlines the continued shortfalls affecting these communities and the opportunities for these disparities to be addressed through the forthcoming Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As the publication argues, there must be greater attention to the specific needs of minority and indigenous communities, with a stronger focus on rights rather than targets, directed investment and fully disaggregated data. As inequalities in health, education, livelihoods and other areas are interconnected, there needs to be a systematic focus on minority and indigenous inequality across all sectors of development. Without a clear focus on discrimination, it is unlikely that their situation will soon improve. For these groups, the barriers to participation and service access often extend beyond resource limitations or weak governance. In this context, it is possible for countries to achieve rapid progress at a national level without any positive change for its most marginalized populations. However, there is also growing awareness of the contribution that minority and indigenous knowledge can play in environmental conservation, local economies and other priority areas of the SDGs. Ensuring greater equality for minorities and indigenous peoples will therefore not only benefit these communities, but also support the general progress of countries in their realization of more sustainable development outcomes.
"The present guide offers information related to norms and mechanisms developed to protect the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. It includes detailed information about procedures and forums in which minority issues may be raised to minorities and by also covering selected specialized agencies and regional mechanisms, the present Guide complements information contained in Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society"--Introduction.
Within the Middle East there are a wide range of minority groups outside the mainstream religious and ethnic culture. This book provides a detailed examination of their rights as minorities within this region, and their changing status throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The rights of minorities in the Middle East are subject to a range of legal frameworks, having developed in part from Islamic law, and in recent years subject to international human rights law and institutional frameworks. The book examines the context in which minority rights operate within this conflicted region, investigating how minorities engage with (or are excluded from) various sites of power and how state practice in dealing with minorities (often ostensibly based on Islamic authority) intersects with and informs modern constitutionalism and international law. The book identifies who exactly can be classed as a minority group, analysing in detail the different religious and ethnic minorities across the region. The book also pays special attention to the plight of minorities who are spread between various states, often as the result of conflict. It assesses the applicable domestic legislative instruments within the three countries investigated as case studies: Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, and highlights key domestic remedies that could serve as models for ensuring greater social cohesion and greater inclusion of minorities in the political life of these countries.
