Re-blog: 2013 Peoples under Threat survey

2013 Peoples under Threat survey: Risk of sectarian killing in Pakistan, Syria, Yemen reaches critical level. Eight most at risk states out of top ten subject to recent or prolonged foreign military interventions.

9 July 2013

#PUT13

Sectarian killing between Sunni and Shi’a has risen dramatically and presents an urgent threat to life across much of the Middle East and into Asia, says Minority Rights Group International (MRG) in the 2013 Peoples under Threat global ranking, which lists countries where communities are most at threat of genocide or mass killing.

According to authoritative indicators factored into the Peoples under Threat analysis, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen and Egypt have all risen significantly in the table, with religious minorities at particular risk.

‘Muslim groups, of various denominations, are now at risk of mass killing in nine out of the top ten states in the index. They may find themselves targeted because of their religion, but more often on account of their sect, or their ethnicity,’ says Mark Lattimer, MRG’s Executive Director.

Eight out of ten states identified in the index as being most at risk have been subject to recent or decades-long foreign military interventions.

While it is possible that foreign military action may halt an episode of mass civilian killing or decrease its intensity, it may also prolong or intensify killing, or even initiate a conflict where there was none before. In some cases, it may have the effect of shifting violence away from one people or population group onto another or others, says MRG.

‘Foreign armed intervention is now the norm in states with peoples at risk, but there is a widespread failure to track the effect on civilians,’ says Mark Lattimer. ‘If we fail to count the dead, how can we be sure that interventions are not doing more harm than good?’

Pakistan and Syria, the two states that have risen most prominently in the index this year, are both at the centre of intense controversy concerning international intervention.

The recent general election in Pakistan saw fierce criticism of US military action, in particular the systematic use of unmanned drones to drop bombs in the north and west of the country, which have caused intense resentment among communities in the tribal areas. While the elections were hailed as the first transfer of power from one elected government to another in Pakistan’s history, they were marked by violence and the outcome shows deep regional divisions.

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and other sectarian extremists, widely believed to be funded from abroad, have intensified a murderous campaign against the Shi’a and other religious minorities in the country, and have operated with almost complete impunity.

At least 93,000 people are now estimated by the UN to have been killed in Syria’s conflict. This is the third year in a row that Syria has risen in the index, and previous fears expressed in Peoples under Threat that Shi’a, Alawites, Assyrians, Kurds and Palestinians would become at risk of sectarian killings are sadly being increasingly realised.

In June 2013 the US announced for the first time that it would provide direct military support to Syrian rebels, joining states, such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia and Iran, already engaged in supporting one or other side in the war. The involvement of the Lebanese group Hezbollah in support of the Syrian government has also increased the danger of the conflict spilling further into Lebanon, which itself rose in the index this year.

In Yemen in 2012, a major military offensive, supported by the US, targeted Islamic militants in the south, and the conflict displaced tens of thousands of civilians. The US continued a separate campaign of drone strikes across the country. In the north, scene of an earlier Saudi Arabian military intervention in 2009, continuing conflict between al Houthi rebels and the government and Sunni tribes caused casualties and displacement in both Zaydi Shi’a and Sunni communities.

Yemen, and its communities most under threat, now have the dubious distinction of having risen in the Peoples under Threat index seven years in a row.

Libya and Mali are two recent cases where success has been claimed for large-scale foreign military interventions, the first in support of rebels, the second in support of the government. Both countries have risen sharply in the index this year, following major rises last year too.

MRG urges the international community to first consider peaceful means of influencing a state’s human rights performance.

‘Foreign military intervention lies at one end of a spectrum of possible international engagement, such as diplomatic pressure, expulsion from international organisations, severance of diplomatic relations, economic sanctions, arms embargoes, international prosecutions of military or political leaders, and travel bans or asset freezes,’ says Mark Lattimer.

Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan and Iraq have topped the Peoples under Threat index for six years in a row.

Notes to Editors

Interview opportunities:

UK
Mark Lattimer, Executive Director, Minority Rights Group International

Syria
Aref Gabeau – YASA – Kurdish Centre for Studies & Legal Consultancy
E: arefgabeau@hotmail.com
M: +49 (0) 1725412644

Pakistan
Moazzam S. Bhatti, Advocacy Outreach Advisor, Sustainable Development Policy Institute
T: +92 300 4125284 and +92 321 4606915
E: moazzamsb@gmail.com

Libya
Mariam Elhadri, Coordinating Officer, Lawyers for Justice in Libya
T: +44 (0) 20 7242 5071
E: info@libyanjustice.org

Egypt
Mamdouh Nakhla, Chairman of Board of Trustees, Al-Kalema Centre for Human Rights
E: alkalema@hotmail.com
T: +20 (0) 1005382995

•The Peoples Under Threat survey seeks to identify those peoples or groups that are most under threat of genocide, mass killing or other systematic violent repression in 2013. It is created by compiling authoritative data on the known antecedents to genocide or mass political killing. As an early warning tool, it has been widely used or cited by UN officials and other human rights and conflict prevention practitioners. The survey, with a description of how it is compiled, will be available at 09:00 (GMT+1) on 10 July 2013 on MRG’s website. Download the full briefing here and the full table here.

• Minority Rights Group International is the leading international human rights organisation working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples. We work with more than 150 partners in over 50 countries.

• View a Peoples under Threat photo story and listen to a podcast in the Minority Voices Newsroom.

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact:

Emma Eastwood – MRG Press Office (London, UK)
T: +44 (0)207 4224205
M: +44 (0)7989699984
E: emma.eastwood@mrgmail.org

Twitter: @MinorityRights

#PUT13

Download this press release in Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Slovak or Polish in the right-hand column.

 

Peoples under Threat is funded by the European Union. This content is the sole responsibility of Minority Rights Group International and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.-

See more at: http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=11992#sthash.70LW4o2X.dpuf

 

New Publications on Minority Rights; Refugee Health Care; Anti Slavery Leaflets; and Africa

Challenges at the intersection of gender and ethnic identity in Kenya

Challenges at the intersection of gender and ethnic identity in Kenya
By Laura A. Young for the Minority Rights Group.

Minority and indigenous women in Kenya are discriminated against on multiple levels; they are targeted because of their identification with a minority or indigenous group, and as women – both by cultural practices within their own community and because of gender discrimination more
widely.

This report examines the challenges and the new opportunities that have emerged with the passing of the new Constitution in 2010. The goal of the report is to reflect the voices and experiences of women from diverse minority and indigenous communities in Kenya.

[Download Full Report]
(Source: Minority Rights Group International)

Know your rights:  a community guide to the UN Declaration on Minorities
By the Minority Rights Group.

The year 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities . It was unanimously adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December 1992 and is the primary UN document dedicated to the rights of minorities.

Minorities throughout the world have benefited from the adoption of the Declaration as the international community recognized and codified their rights, and national governments took action to protect these rights. But there is still a long way to go in order to fully implement this historic Declaration.

[Download Full Report]
(Source: Minority Rights Group International)

Reading List: Refugee Health Care.
Updated Version.
Produced by The King’s Fund.
[Download Full Report]
(Source: Network e-Bulletin)

Anti-Slavery leaflets.
Produced by Anti-Slavery International.

“The Anti-Slavery campaign in London has created a postcard sized leaflet to hand out to migrant workers, available in a range of languages. The postcard will make workers aware of their legal rights and spell out indicators of forced labour including having identity documents confiscated, being placed under constant control, being misled over working conditions, being forced to work against their will or working below the minimum wage or without pay.”

The leaflets are available to download as pdfs in: English; Bulgarian; Czech; Chinese; Vietnamese; Slovak; Portuguese; Polish; Romanian; and Spanish.

[Access]
(Source: Network e-Bulletin)

Publications on Africa, (Details of these new publications were originally circulated by Elisa Mason on the incredibly useful: Forced Migration Current Awareness Blog.  Further details can be found on the website at:  http://fm-cab.blogspot.co.uk/) :

The Adoption and Ratification of the African Union’s Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa: An Analysis of the Discourse of States and the International Humanitarian Aid Community (University of the Witwatersrand, Feb. 2011) [text]

Kenya: Don’t Force 55,000 Refugees into Camps (Human Rights Watch, Jan. 2013) [text]

Kenya: Somali Refugees under Threat (Refugees International Blog, Jan. 2013) [text]

Mali’s Conflict Refugees: Responding to a Growing Crisis, Briefing Paper, no. 167 (Oxfam, Jan. 2013) [text via ReliefWeb]

Prepare for Displacement Crisis in Mali (Refugees International Blog, Jan. 2013) [text]

New Report from the MRG: Challenges at the Intersection of Gender and Ethnic Identity in Kenya

Challenges at the intersection of gender and ethnic identity in Kenya

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has just published a new report entitled, “Challenges at the Intersection of Gender and Ethnic Identity in Kenya.”

Taken from the MRG website, this report is described as follows;

Minority and indigenous women in Kenya are discriminated against on multiple levels; they are targeted because of their identification with a minority or indigenous group, and as women – both by cultural practices within their own community and because of gender discrimination more
widely.

This report examines the challenges and the new opportunities that have emerged with the passing of the new Constitution in 2010. The goal of the report is to reflect the voices and experiences of women from diverse minority and indigenous communities in Kenya.

For hunter-gatherer women, many of whom have been displaced and forced to become squatters, community land rights are a primary concern. They view their lack of opportunities, basic services and education for girls as a direct result of their displacement.

For pastoralist women, insecurity and conflict in areas where they live has a disproportionate impact on them. Cultural practices that are harmful to girls, such as female genital mutilation and early marriage, reduce girls’ access to education and entrench women’s poverty.

For fisher peoples, environmental degradation and collapsing fish stocks are major fears. Women from these communities expressed their frustration at traditional gender roles that place much of the responsibility for meeting the family’s basic needs on women.

While there is strong leadership from individual women in many of the minority and indigenous communities described in this report, the majority of women face ongoing violations of their human rights. Trapped in a cycle of poverty that they attribute directly to decades of marginalization, they fear that they and their children will not be able to take advantage of gains in the new Constitution.

This report highlights actions identified by minority and indigenous women that should be taken by the government and other actors to support women’s empowerment and participation in the decision-making processes that directly affect them.

[Download the Full Report]

For further information, you may also read the MRG press release, entitled: `Marginalization multiplied: Minority and Indigenous women in Kenya facing discrimination on many fronts – new MRG Report.’

 

Launch of the State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples Report 2012

State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012

The Minority Rights Group International organisation have just launhced the 2012 edition of their flagship publication entitled, “State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012.”

The following information is taken from the organisations website:

Links and Downloads:

Use the Download menu to the right of this page to access a printable PDF of the full text, or download individual chapters by theme or region.

Read the global press release, the Africa press release and the South East Asia press release.

View a video report.

About the Publication

Natural resource development projects such as logging and dams, oil and mineral extraction and large-scale agriculture have been successful in generating vast revenues across the globe. But at what cost to minorities and indigenous peoples?

In its flagship annual publication, State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012, MRG documents hundreds of case studies about marginalized groups who have been adversely affected by exploitation of the resources found on, or under, their ancestral lands. It also considers land rights around the world.

Read this year’s edition for

• Discussions on issues such as women’s land rights or corporate responsibility to protect human rights.
• An examination of the growing body of legal standards and jurisprudence in the area of indigenous peoples’ rights.
• Interviews and case studies from minorities and indigenous communities, including examples of how they are fighting back and campaigning to protect their rights.
• Overviews of the human rights situation of minorities and indigenous peoples in every major world region.
• Peoples under Threat 2012 – MRG’s unique statistical analysis and ranking of countries.

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.

Find untold stories from minorities and indigenous peoples affected by natural resource extraction and land rights issues in the Minority Voices Newsroom.

Subscribe to MRG’s publications here.

Follow MRG on Facebook and Twitter.

State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2012