Module 6: Minority rights

Full text of commitment VI

Context

Hostilities between communities threaten social cohesion, peace and security within and among nations. Such hostilities can be rooted in social, ethnic, religious or any other ground. History tells us how much damage occurs to the whole society when minority rights are violated. Discrimination sows seeds of hatred in the social tissue. This creates tensions and grievances which are exploitable for political purposes.

Today’s world is witnessing numerous aggravating factors at an accelerated pace. These include conflicts, demographic changes, migration, racism and the misuse of new communication technologies. Nationals of different origins, stateless persons, refugees and asylum seekers suffer various forms of discrimination. Full equality and non-discrimination of citizens and non-citizens are fundamental requirements for safe and prosperous societies and for sustainable development. Almost all societies are becoming multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious. Such diversity is either cherished as a great richness or perceived as a ticking bomb fuelled by racism, xenophobia and related intolerance. Faith actors have their independent say and role to play at this historical crossroad.

Additional supporting documents

In support of the peer-to-peer learning on commitment VI on minorities, the training file should include: the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities of 1992, UN Human Rights Committee General Comment No. 23 of 1994, the Marrakesh Declaration on the Rights of Religious Minorities in Predominantly Muslim Majority Communities of 2016, and the Statement on Human Fraternity for world peace and living together, signed by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi in February 2019.

The Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence (2012) notes with concern that “perpetrators of incidents, which indeed reach the threshold of article 20 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, are not prosecuted and punished. At the same time members of minorities are de facto persecuted, with a chilling effect on others, through the abuse of vague domestic legislation, jurisprudence and policies. This dichotomy of
(1) non-prosecution of ‘real’ incitement cases and
(2) persecution of minorities under the guise of domestic incitement laws seems to be pervasive.”

The 2012 report of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief analysed human rights violations against persons belonging to religious minorities, which “include disproportionate bureaucratic restrictions; denial of appropriate legal status positions needed to build up or uphold a religious infrastructure; systematic discrimination and partial exclusion from important sectors of society; discriminatory rules within family laws; indoctrination of children from minorities in public schools; publicly stoked prejudices and vilification sometimes connected with historic traumas and national mythologies; acts of vandalism and desecration; prohibition or disruption of religious ceremonies; threats and acts of violence; interference in the community’s internal affairs; confiscation of community property; criminal sanctions; denial of asylum, possibly resulting in extraditions and exposure to serious risks of persecution.”

The Independent Expert on minority issues, Rita Izsák, devoted her 2013 report to religious minorities: “Article 27 of the ICCPR provides that in those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language. Article 27, which is the most important, is a legally binding treaty provision dedicated to minorities.

Its scope extends beyond freedom of religion or belief, while fully preserving the substance of the provisions of article 18 on freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Nazila Ghanea, however, has pointed out the dearth of consideration of religious minorities as minorities in the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee on article 27 and their overall exclusion to date from consideration under article 27.”

In his 2018 report, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes, “highlighted the fact that, in many countries, minorities were among the world’s most vulnerable segments of society and were currently confronted with an increasing number of human rights challenges and threats, ranging from discrimination linked to their languages, religion or ethnicity to violence and hate speech. He stressed that these challenges required concerted, collective and determined action by all concerned. He underscored the need to further understand the human rights issues surrounding the marginalization and vulnerability of minorities and for collaborative and timely responses to mitigate the threats that they faced. This was particularly true in the case of minority women who may find themselves doubly marginalized because of their gender and for being a member of a linguistic, religious or ethnic minority” (linking commitments V and VI).

Special Rapporteur Fernand de Varennes focussed his 2019 report on the concept of a ‘minority’ in the United Nations system, including a working definition and historical contextualization: “The Special Rapporteur invites United Nations entities to take note of the following working definition on the concept of a minority under article 27 of the ICCPR and of the Human Rights Committee’s jurisprudence and comment on who is a member of a minority in order to adopt and apply more consistently a common approach and understanding and therefore more effectively ensure the full and effective realization of the rights of persons belonging to minorities:

An ethnic, religious or linguistic minority is any group of persons which constitutes less than half of the population in the entire territory of a State whose members share common characteristics of culture, religion or language, or a combination of any of these. A person can freely belong to an ethnic, religious or linguistic minority without any requirement of citizenship, residence, official recognition or any other status.”

In her 2019 report on France, the Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, “notes that France takes the position that, under domestic law, the France polity contains no minorities, national or otherwise, and no communities, except ‘national and geographical communities’. She applies relevant international standards in her assessment of minority status and notes to that end that established international entities have applied the terms ‘minority’ and ‘community’ to France.”

In his statement to the Subcommittee on Human Rights in May 2021, Special Rapporteur Fernand de Varennes invited the European Parliament to explore collaboration with UN agencies such as OHCHR, explicitly referring to the Rabat Plan of Action and the “#Faith4Rights toolkit, which provides practical peer-to-peer learning modules, including on addressing incitement to hatred and violence in the name of religion”.

Peer-to-peer learning exercises

Unpacking: Participants break down commitment VI into different components. In this context, participants may also discuss the formulation that “persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life”, which is taken from article 2 (2) of the 1992 Declaration. (Individual exercise for five minutes followed by ten minutes of a full group discussion on the differences between individual listings)

Tweeting: Participants summarize the commitment VI within 140 characters (individual exercise for five minutes). Tweets can then be shared by the participants on their own Twitter accounts if they so wish, ideally using the standard hashtag #Faith4Rights. This would give the exercise a practical dimension and immerse religious leaders into the use of modern social media tools that appeal to the younger generations.

One possible result of this tweeting exercise could be as follows: “We commit to stand up for the rights of all persons belonging to minorities and to defend their freedom of religion or belief, particularly in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life.”

Translating: Similar to the tweeting exercise, participants could be asked to “translate” this commitment into child-friendly language or into a local dialect. This would stimulate discussion about the most important elements and appropriate ways of communicating them to the general public.

Critical thinking: A critical discussion on the meaning of “minorities” could start by asking participants if they agree with the term. An interesting entry point for a critical reflection of commitment VI could be to quote the Abu Dhabi joint statement by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in which they both rejected “the discriminatory use of the term minorities which engenders feelings of isolation and inferiority”.

Do participants agree with the two dignitaries on this point? Should the protection of “minorities” be replaced with the concept of equal and full citizenship rights? What would be the implications for non-citizens, such as refugees, asylum seekers, migrant workers and stateless persons?

An interesting conclusion of this discussion would be that words matter but they should neither straitjacket their meanings nor obstruct the objective. If all individuals and communities enjoy equal rights, does it matter what we call them? Furthermore, are there any missing elements in commitment VI? (Collective exercise for 20 minutes.)

Storytelling: Participants summarize relevant personal experiences pertaining to this commitment and how they handled them. In particular, has there been a situation where participants had to intervene in defence of a person belonging to a minority? What type of discriminatory practices are more likely to occur in the participants’ environment? What types of minorities are there in the country where participants live? Who are the different actors in their respective areas and how can they better ensure respect for the rights of minorities? Participants may also provide examples of the positive or negative role played by the media in this respect. (Collective exercise for 15 minutes.)

The facilitator could highlight minorities’ stories through short films: “The story of a pianist living amidst war. The tale of a poor child who sneaks into a classroom desperate to be educated. These were just two of the films showcased during a nation-wide film festival and competition in Iraq. Hosted by UN Human Rights, the six-month long festival toured 17 of Iraq’s 19 governorates. Over 4,000 Iraqis watched the leading short films on human rights of ethnic and religious minorities, with social media and television coverage reaching thousands more. Backed by support from the Norwegian Government and the Iraqi film industry, short-listed films were screened by Iraqi partner Art City Film and TV Production during the launch event, the 3By3 Film Festival in Baghdad”.

In addition, the facilitator could show the video “Standing up for minority rights” featuring a meeting of ten Serbs and ten Croats in Brussels during Holy Week 2017. One of the participants, Jelena, noted the following: “What made me especially happy is the fact that our groups got along very well. The rule of the pair-work sessions forced us into simple conversations and the results were very good.” This project by the Conference of European Churches was undertaken in partnership with the Quaker Council for European Affairs and the Church’s Commission for Migrants in Europe.

Exploring: How can discrimination against minorities be redressed through religion? What should the reaction of a religious leader be when facing a situation of discrimination against a minority? How should the term ‘minority’ be defined (see the above-mentioned working definition in the 2019 report by Special Rapporteur Fernand de Varennes and listen to his statement at an OHCHR expert consultation in November 2019)? What role does ‘religion’ play in this context? What is the relationship between “long-established” religious minorities and those recently arrived in a given country, for example as immigrants or asylum seekers? Does their citizenship play a role in the context of interfaith initiatives or roundtables? How can law enforcement officials and immigration officers be trained on religious and belief diversity as well as how to ensure that different minorities are better represented at all levels? How can faith actors contribute to countering discrimination against migrants, for example by condemning any stereotyping of migrants, including on the basis of religion or belief, because they are non-citizens or have irregular status?

See Principles and Guidelines, supported by practical guidance, on the human rights protection of migrants in vulnerable situations. (General discussion for 15 minutes). Since commitment VI uses the strong pledge to “stand up” for the rights of persons belonging to minorities, the facilitator could encourage participants to draw up a stakeholder map vis-à-vis the different religious communities in their society, and discuss the role and responsibilities of each stakeholder, including themselves.

Responding to pandemics: The novel coronavirus poses specific challenges for minorities who often live in overcrowded housing conditions, which makes physical distancing and self-isolation difficult. Persons belonging to minorities may also be more likely to be excluded from health care because they lack resources or official documentation, or because of stigma or discrimination. They may also miss important public health messages due to the absence of information about the pandemic in minority languages. The facilitator could ask the participants how religious leaders could promote the dissemination of accurate, evidence-based health and scientific information on COVID-19. How can they draw on language from within their faith traditions to promote positive messages that strengthen the protection of universal human rights and affirm the dignity of all people and the need to protect and care for the vulnerable, and inspire hope and resilience in those affected by COVID-19 and related hate speech?

In this context, the facilitator could refer to the statement of Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes (March 2020), who flagged: “The coronavirus outbreak endangers the health of all of us, with no distinction as to language, religion or ethnicity. But some are more vulnerable than others. All of us can take steps to resist this rise in discriminatory and hate speech against Asian and other minorities in social media”.

In April 2020, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief expressed extreme concerns “that certain religious leaders and politicians continue to exploit the challenging times during this pandemic to spread hatred against Jews and other minorities”. He also called all religious leaders and faith actors to combat incitement to hatred, noting that “Resolution 16/18, United Nations Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech, Rabat Plan of Action, #Faith4Rights toolkit, Fez Plan of action and UNESCO’s programme to prevent violent extremism through education are some useful tools for such engagement and education”. He also criticized policies of forced cremation of the deceased, which runs contrary to the beliefs of minorities.

In its statement on derogations from the Covenant in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020), the UN Human Rights Committee stressed that States cannot “tolerate, even in situations of emergency, the advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that would constitute incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and they must take steps to ensure that public discourse in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic does not constitute advocacy and incitement against specific marginalized or vulnerable groups, including minorities and foreigner nationals.”

Furthermore, the UN Network on Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities noted in its COVID-19 statement (April 2020) that “Political, civic and religious leaders have a crucial role to play in speaking out firmly and promptly against intolerance, discriminatory stereotyping and instances of hate speech. Their actions or inactions can have lasting impacts on overall efforts at ensuring that the pandemic does not deepen inequalities and discrimination.” The UN Network also flagged: “We need everyone to stand up against discrimination! Racism and discrimination against racial, ethnic and religious minorities are increasingly widespread during the COVID-19 crisis. Now is not the time for division, but to reach out and include those left behind. #FightRacism #StandUp4HumanRights #AllInThisTogether #Faith4Rights”.

The #Faith4Rights toolkit is also referred to in the Impact and Assessment Checklist (March 2021) which the UN Network designed to assist field entities, Governments, National Human Rights Institutions, civil society organisations, peoples’ and minority communities and human rights defenders in preparing UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework processes and COVID-19 response and recovery plans.

The UN Guidance Note on Addressing and Countering COVID-19 related Hate Speech (May 2020) noted that the consequences of such hate speech “are most severe when it is propagated by political leaders, public officials, religious leaders and other influencers” and made recommendations to the various stakeholders.

OHCHR’s guidance on COVID-19 and Minority Rights (June 2020) includes specific references to the #Faith4Rights toolkit and recommends twelve key actions by States and other stakeholders, for example to guarantee “inclusive dialogue that will help ensure that minority communities implement and adhere to required public health measures voluntarily, including by analysing how cultural and religious practices may be adapted in response to COVID-19 preventive measures, such as organising virtual religious services”.

Linking the dots: The aim of this exercise is not to resolve all issues surrounding minority rights but rather to highlight the interdependence and intersectionality. How well are religious minorities protected, especially in comparison to persons belonging to national or ethnic and linguistic minorities? Are there other minorities which are not covered by the 1992 Declaration? Facilitators should avoid the discussion derailing into too many related subjects. The aim here is just to encourage participants to acquire the reflex of embracing the full picture while remaining focused on each of its angles and distinct dimensions. (Discussing collectively the relationship between these elements for ten minutes).

Adding faith quotes: Suggesting new religious or belief quotes and grounds to commitment VI (individual exercise for five minutes, followed by a reading by each participant of his or her added reference). One example could be the Rumi quote: “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.” Mother Teresa stated: “Your true character is most accurately measured by how you treat those who can do ‘Nothing’ for you.”

Inspiring: Participants share artistic expressions they know of that capture aspects of the commitment to protect minority rights. These could relate to obstacles to religious, ethnic or cultural minorities’ self-expression. Is it easier for persons belonging to national or ethnic minorities to be heard, for example through popular music? Can other artistic modes of communication be used to convey the message of minority rights?

As possible sources in this respect, please find here the example of a cartoon and calligraphy as well as music. This was also embedded in a webinar on protecting religious or belief minorities (March 2021) and the online event Music4Faith4Rights (November 2021).

Learning objectives

• Participants realize their role as agents of stability and natural defender of all religious minorities within their respective areas of influence.
• Participants learn that addressing hate speech and discrimination against religious minorities is not only the responsibility of the State or individual perpetrators of these violations and that faith actors have a powerfully transformative role in this respect, also in the COVID-19 context.
• Participants discuss inspiring examples that expand their creativity in both preventing and remedying discrimination against religious minorities; they develop operational skills in both areas.

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