الملاحظات الافتتاحية التي أدلى بها السيد بكر ندياي، مدير شعبة مجلس حقوق الإنسان والإجراءات الخاصة، عند إصدار منشور المفوضية السامية لحقوق الإنسان "تعزيز حقوق الأقليات وحمايتها: دليل للمدافعين"

Panel discussions
Palais des Nations, Room XXI

Geneva, 28 November 2013 

Mr. Chair,
Distinguished Panellists,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Colleagues

I would like to welcome you all to the launching of the new publication Promoting and Protecting MinorityRights: A Guidefor Advocates.
We are pleased to see so many of the key actors joining this discussion today, including governments, minority representatives, regional organisations, NGOs, The Independent Expert on Minority Issues, our UN partners and the fellows of  the OHCHR minority fellowship programme as well as participants of the Minority Rights Group Advocacy Programme.

At the outset, I would like to thank all our partners, and Professor Hannum, for their important contributions to the Guide and the distinguished panellists for being here with us today.

The new publication reflects the experience of OHCHR and its partners in the field of minority rights and offers an important tool for minority rights advocates worldwide in their quest for dignity, equality, and justice.

Protecting minority rights is a human rights imperative, but, it is also essential to secure peace and to advance sustainable development.  While there does not exist one template to be applied to address the specific circumstances of each minority experience, we know that a comprehensive strategy is required.  Successful strategies involve working with governments and national actors including National Human Rights Institutions, minority organisations and civil society at large. I believe that this Guide can serve as an important resource for all of them.

We are all aware that there are different options for addressing minority rights issues. However, the path chosen must be within the framework of international human rights standards, including minority rights norms. Furthermore, in considering the options available and examining which combination of law, regulation and policy is best suited to address the specific problems at stake , knowledge sharing, comparative experiences and lessons learned can go a long way. In addition to knowledge and capacity, the commitment of Governments is necessary to redress a pattern of exclusion and discrimination in their own countries and outside their borders.

It is fundamentally important that States, in collaboration with other actors, develop or refine their own capacity to protect the rights of minorities living within their borders.  At the same time, OHCHR plays a complementary role toward this end in promoting national and local efforts by providing support and advice, including through its advocacy tools such as this Guide.

The panel discussions marking the launching of the Guide stand as one example of OHCHR efforts to share knowledge, strengthen protection and to highlight the importance of using human rights mechanisms to empower minorities in claiming their rights.

Advocacy

Mr. Chair,
Distinguished panellists
Ladies and gentlemen

International human rights law provides for persons belonging to minority groups to enjoy individual rights derived from universal human rights standards.

Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which inspired the UN Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,  constitutes an important source of minority rights and offers guidance to States in adopting measures to secure such minority rights for all including women and girls. 

While these and other normative sources of minority rights constitute the bedrock for legal protection they would be of limited impact without the mechanisms created to facilitate their implementation.  Whether international, regional or national, minority rights mechanisms are vital for turning rights and obligations laid out in normative standards into reality on the ground. 

In our work to combat racial discrimination and advance minority rights, cooperation with international, regional and national actors is of crucial importance and need to be strengthened further.

This approach requires that in every country, measures adopted to protect minority rights are carefully considered, prior and after adoption, and that they involve close participation of representatives of minorities themselves whether dominant or non-dominant. For example, it is imperative that the impact of educational reforms on minorities’ access to quality education, including in minority languages, is carefully assessed throughout such reform processes. 

In this regard, the protection of the rights of the most marginalised such as minority women and children must not take a back seat.

All too often, it is minority women and children who are most exposed to human rights violations. In addition to denouncing such violations, OHCHR work to ensure that the numerous strategies and resources allocated to human rights issues result in tangible improvements of their situation.

For instance, our minority fellowship programme and other capacity development initiatives stand as examples of endeavours to empower minorities. The OHCHR Minorities Fellowship Programme annually offers an opportunity to ten minority rights activists, to gain specialised knowledge of the UN system and mechanisms dealing with international human rights in general and minority rights in particular and to bring the knowledge gained to their respective communities.    We know too well that knowledge of applicable human rights norms and mechanisms added to capacity and commitment are the best tools to address rule of law deficits and human rights protection gaps. 

In this respect, this afternoon, we will examine how minority rights mechanisms can be used to protect linguistic rights in a digital era.

Linguistic

Mr. Chair,
Distinguished panellists
Ladies and gentlemen

Language has been recognized as one of the essential elements allowing for ethnic and cultural identity and the fostering of community cohesion.  Hence, the promotion of minority languages is a legitimate goal for States to pursue.

However, this must be done in a manner that fully respects the rights of persons belonging to minorities, including their right to use their own language in private and in public, as guaranteed under international human rights law. 

Minority rights do not encourage isolated, separate communities. Instead, this set of rights provides that efforts to protect minority languages in education and other spheres are coupled with support to inter-ethnic dialogue and contacts.  In this respect, the learning of a state language by minorities, when done in a manner that does not undermine minority language education can facilitate the implementation of minority rights.  In the same vein, efforts to raise awareness of minority cultures and teaching of their languages to the majority can contribute not only to the protection of minority rights but to the cohesion of the entire society.  

Minority rights to equal access to information and to freedom of expression constitute basic rights to be enjoyed on a non-discriminatory basis.    Exclusion based on linguistic “appartenance” can hamper access to information and services which in turn can serve to restrict participation in political economic and social life.

In our era, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the media have revolutionised how we approach the exercise of freedom of expression and access to information. With respect to minorities, ICTs raise a number of challenges.  While rapid developments in information and communications technology and in particular social media can facilitate the effective participation of minorities through engagement particularly worrying is the risk that the domination of majority languages in the new media landscape could serve to further isolate minority languages.

In this respect, the challenges associated with ICTs may require revisiting measures needed to protect language rights, freedom of expression, right to information and the connections to participation in decision making.  It is imperative that persons belonging to minorities are able to secure options associated with the use of minority languages for example in interaction with State authorities.

Strong advocacy including through the use of human rights mechanisms can help to ensure that the linguistic and other rights of minorities are fully guaranteed in this digital era.

Conclusion

The protection of the rights of minorities remains a very important international concern. It also remains an important priority for OHCHR.

Last year, the 20th anniversary of the Declaration provided the Office with an important opportunity to organise various activities to commemorate the Declaration but also to examine how gaps in protection of minority rights could be addressed.

The effort to promote and protect minority rights must engage the entire UN system.  With this in mind, the Secretary General established in 2012 the UN Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.  OHCHR coordinates the work of the Network created to facilitate dialogue and cooperation within the UN system while building on guidance and sharing of effective practices. 

In the course of this year, marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the High Commissioner’s mandate, the office was also provided with an opportunity to reaffirm the principles included in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action not least the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human right, including the right of persons belonging to minority groups.

While we maintain a responsibility to remind Governments of their obligations, we also recognise that it is through concerted effort that we will refine ways of overcoming obstacles to the realization of minority rights.

It takes courage to defend the rights of the most marginalised in society.  However, courage combined with knowledge through the right advocacy tools added to commitment can go a long way.

Let me conclude by affirming that we are looking forward to the new and creative ideas that will emanate from your presentations and discussions to further sharpen our work with international, regional and national mechanisms and pursue our shared goal of eliminating racial discrimination and ensuring full protection of minorities.

Thank you for your kind attention.