[MRG e-bulletin] Minority Rights Group International - e-bulletin - June/July 2004

Tue Jul 13 13:07:19 BST 2004

Minority Rights Group International - e-bulletin

Welcome to the Minority Rights Group International (MRG) email bulletin for June/July 2004. Simply click on the links below in order to access the full news release or publication on MRG's website, or alternatively visit our site at:  <http://www.minorityrights.org>

In this e-bulletin:

	*	Darfur: Letter to UK Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
	*	Congo's Pygmies 'targeted for extermination'  
	*	Diego Garcia: UK tries to remove islanders' right of return 
	*	Shame of Security Council silence amid the killing in Darfur
	*	Minority rights find their place in the European Constitution
	*	Minorities at risk if Congo's fragile peace is allowed to fail
	*	Innovate and strengthen or continue to fail rights group tells UN Panel
	*	The Endorois of Kenya: a pastoralist community faces irreparable harm
	*	Events and advocacy:
			-	Promoting the rights of Batwa Pygmies - Uganda 
			-	Religious minorities in Asia - Sri Lanka
			-	Louise Arbour welcomed as new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 
	*	Coming up: forthcoming events for your diary
	*	Focus on: Minorities and the UN - promoting respect for minority rights
	*	Vacancies: Programmes Assistant - full-time
	*	Worth a closer look
	*	New Publications:
			-	'Erasing the Board': Report on crimes against Bambuti Pygmies in DRC

News

Darfur: Letter to UK Foreign Secretary Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
A group of human rights and development NGOs has delivered a letter to Jack Straw calling for the UK to apply pressure for a United Nations Security Council resolution on Darfur: "Decisive action is needed now. The UK Government, as the second largest donor to Darfur, one of the key states in securing the recent peace protocols in Naivasha and an important member of both the EU and the UN Security Council, is in a unique position to show international leadership and to make a real difference. For many civilians in Darfur it is already too late but the international community must act now if it is to avert further human suffering".
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=286>

Congo's Pygmies 'targeted for extermination': International Criminal Court to consider violations against Congo's Vice President
The Bambuti Pygmies in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were targeted for extermination by forces controlled by one of the Congo's current Vice Presidents, reveal the findings of the first research mission to take detailed testimony from Pygmy villages in the forests of Ituri and Kivu. Attacks against the Pygmies included mass killings, acts of cannibalism, systematic rape and the looting and destruction of villages. MRG together with Pygmy organizations from eastern DRC have submitted a dossier of evidence to the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=284>

Diego Garcia: UK tries to remove islanders' right of return
The British Government has resorted to a little-used colonial power to overturn without debate a court judgement, which had granted the Chagossian islanders, deported en masse by Britain over 30 years ago to make way for a US military base, the right to return to some of their Indian Ocean islands. The government claims that security considerations post 9/11 give priority to the alleged need for the archipelago to continue to be used exclusively by US forces who lease Diego Garcia island from Britain. MRG suggests that the governments extraordinary attempt to circumvent the law of the land by overturning a high court decision creates an extremely dangerous precedent. 
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=277>

Shame of Security Council silence amid the killing in Darfur
The United Nations Security Council, the body supremely charged with acting to ensure international peace and security is failing in its responsibility to Darfur's victims of ethnic cleansing. The UN's own evidence of government complicity in attacks is now so great that further investigation must now be replaced by real and unequivocal condemnation at the highest level, stated MRG. Efforts to halt the killings on the part of the Security Council Members had been 'half-hearted and ineffective' stated MRG, which suggests that Sudan is acting in 'the full and certain knowledge that the international community would fail to act against it'. The message that this sends out is that states can continue to violate the rights of their own citizens without interference.  
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=276>

Minority rights find their place in the European Constitution
On 18 June 2004, European Union leaders eventually agreed a Constitution for Europe after months of diplomatic wrangling. In a fundamental statement of European Union values, for the first time the EU has recognized the rights of minorities in its statement that 'The Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, liberty, democracy, equality and the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.' But what are the implications for minorities and does it mean that those countries, such as France, which currently refuse to recognize the existence of national minorities must now acknowledge them?
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=281>

Minorities at risk if Congo's fragile peace is allowed to fail
Renewed fighting in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased fears of an escalation of tensions and a return to war. An ethnic dimension to recent violence (including ethnic Hutu and Tutsi related allegiances) and the brutal history of the deeply traumatized region in which over three million were killed, have led to calls for early action to restore peace and to ensure the security of innocent civilians. MRG stressed the need to establish the rights of minorities in order to secure sustainable peace in the region and highlighted the plight of the most vulnerable groups including the Batwa pygmies.
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=274>

Innovate and strengthen or continue to fail rights group tells UN peace and security panel
If genocide and violent conflict involving minorities are to be prevented in the future it is imperative to rectify a flawed UN system, which allowed the Rwandan genocide to happen despite adequate international standards and early warning. Only by innovation, establishing new mechanisms and enhancing existing capacities can the UN truly address global threats and challenges. Recommendations were put forward by MRG in a submission to the UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, tasked by Kofi Annan to deliver effective action to meet challenges in the field of peace and security.
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=275>

The Endorois of Kenya: a pastoralist community faces irreparable harm
The Endorois Community have lived for centuries around the Lake Bogoria region in the South Baringo and Koibatek Administrative Districts of Kenya. In the 1970s, the Government of Kenya, without effectively consulting the Community, gazetted the Community's traditional lands for the purposes of creating a game reserve. The Community were told by the Government to vacate the land and were forced to move. In doing so, not only were the Community's property rights violated, but spiritual, cultural and economic ties to the land were severed. Rights groups state that without urgent action to address their situation and to halt imminent mining activities on their ancestral lands, the Endorois may face irreparable harm. 
<http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=282>

Events and Advocacy

Promoting the Rights of Batwa Pygmies: Recognition, Representation and Cooperation - Kampala, Uganda - April 2004
On the basis of a request it had received from Batwa community leaders in 1999, MRG has been working with Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region since the year 2000. MRG's was able to formulate a three year programme under the title 'Promoting the Rights of Batwa Pygmies: Recognition Representation and Cooperation'. The overall aim of the programme is to increase recognition and respect for the rights of Batwa communities, to enhance their participation and representation in the decision making process, and to promote appropriate social development through intercommunity cooperation. One of the goals of this recent Kampala event was to help to facilitate the meeting of MRG's Batwa partners with development donors to address their desperate need for development assistance and aid. Click on the links below for further information and to download MRG's report 'The Batwa Pygmies of the Great Lakes Region of Africa' and additional publications. 
<http://www.minorityrights.org/OnlineReports/OnlineReport.asp?ID=8>
<http://www.minorityrights.org/OnlineReports/OnlineReport.asp?ID=35>

Consultation on Religious Minorities in Asia - Colombo, Sri Lanka - June 2004
This regional consultation brought together religious minority representatives and specialists, civil society actors, representatives of majority communities, decision-makers and key commentators, from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, and Nepal. The workshop was the culmination of in-country activities, which included consultation and documentation processes. These documented abuses and violations of religious minority rights, religious-based persecution and discrimination, legal cases, judgments and examples of good practice. The aim of the workshop was to allow participants to pool insights from across South and South-east Asia, share experiences and develop a joint analysis, as well as make recommendations for strategies to protect and promote religious minority rights in Asia. Click below to link to MRG publications from this project including recent reports on religious minorities in China and Pakistan.
<http://www.minorityrights.org/OnlineReports/OnlineReports.asp>

Louise Arbour welcomed as new United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Minority Rights Group International congratulate Louise Arbour on taking up her new post as High Commissioner for Human Rights following the tragic death of Sergio Vieira de Mello in a terrorist attack in Baghdad in August 2003. Louise Arbour brings a wealth of valuable experience to the post including her period as Chief Prosecutor of the UN International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

For further information about the events above and details of many additional MRG programmes and advocacy activities, please visit MRG's website or contact us directly.

Coming up:

United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations - Geneva, Switzerland - 19-23 July
<http://www.unhchr.ch/indigenous/groups-01.htm>

United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights - Geneva, Switzerland - 26 July - 13 August
<http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/2/56sub/56sub.htm>

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination - sixty fifth session - 2 - 20 August 
<http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/cerd.htm>

Focus on: Minorities and the UN 

Using the United Nations to promote respect for minority rights
Much of the work of the UN on human and minority rights can seem inaccessible and distant particularly to those who are the victims of prejudice, discrimination or exclusion. Yet NGOs and minorities themselves can play a hugely important role in the work of the UN and by using the UN system effectively they can promote and strengthen not only the rights of minority communities, but the UN system itself. MRG has produced an essential guide, 'Minority Rights: A Guide to United Nations Procedures and Institutions' which aims to encourage people belonging to minorities and the groups themselves to use the procedures and forums of the United Nations increasingly and effectively in order to promote respect for their legitimate rights. Fully updated in 2004 to incorporate changes and developments in the UN system, MRG's guide has been written and revised by experts and offers a useful and effective tool towards using the UN to promote respect for minority rights. <http://www.minorityrights.org/TrainingManuals/TrainingManual.asp?ID=31>

Vacancies

Programmes Assistant - Full time post c. £ 18,779 p.a. (incl. ILW)
Minority Rights Group International's (MRG) Programmes Department, to work alongside the Southeast Europe and South/Southeast Asia Programmes.
You will assist in project planning and research; coordinate publications; be responsible for organising overseas events; and will liaise with MRG's regional offices and partner organisations. You will also provide general, financial and administrative support to the Head of Programmes. We are looking for a good communicator, with strong organisational skills and the ability to prioritize a busy workload. You should have a good knowledge of human (and minority) rights issues. To receive an application pack, send a large stamped (76p) self-addressed envelope marked Recruitment (ref. PAS-SC04) to MRG or download the application pack from our website. Closing date: 19 July 2004. Interviews expected to be held week of 26 July 2004

MRG strives to be an equal opportunities employer. MRG occasionally has opportunities for internships and voluntary work and those interested in applying for such positions should initially contact MRG with a brief curriculum vitae (resume) and covering letter.
<http://www.minorityrights.org/job_vac.asp>

Worth a closer look

BRIDGE - is an established non-profit making unit specializing in gender and development based at the Institute of Development Studies in the UK. It aims to support gender mainstreaming efforts by bridging the gaps between theory, policy and practice with accessible gender information. For further information visit the BRIDGE website by clicking the link below.
<http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge>

Make a Difference Day takes place on Saturday 30th October 2004 and aims to encourage everybody across the UK to try volunteering for a day. Last year nearly 90,000 people participated. For charities and organizations working on minority issues Make a Difference Day offers a fantastic opportunity to recruit new volunteers, get publicity for your organization and raise awareness of the work you do. For find out more contact Community Service Volunteers. 
<http://www.csv.org.uk/difference>

Information contained in external websites does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of MRG and its staff.

New MRG Publications

'Erasing the Board': Report of the international research mission into crimes under international law committed against the Bambuti Pygmies in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
War crimes and crimes against humanity, including persecution, murder, forcible population transfer, torture, rape and extermination, have been committed against the Bambuti Pygmies in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). These crimes have taken place since the start of the second war in 1998 and continue up to the present. Bambuti communities remain at grave risk. This new MRG report will be available in printed copy or from MRG's website from 06 July in both English and French.
<http://www.minorityrights.org/MRGPublications.asp>

MRG welcomes your comments on this e-bulletin and our work in general, and greatly values your opinions and information. We hope that you will find this e-bulletin useful, however, it is not our intention to send you unwanted messages. If you wish us to remove you from this list, simply reply to minority.rights at mrgmail.org stating 'un-subscribe' in the subject line or visit: <http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/mrg_e-bulletin> 

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is a non-governmental organization working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide, and to promote cooperation and understanding between communities.

MRG is a registered charity no. 282305, and has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and observer status with the African Commission for Human and Peoples' Rights.

Contact MRG:
54 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LT, UK.
Tel: 020 7422 4200	Fax: 020 7422 4201
email:	minority.rights at mrgmail.org

<http://www.minorityrights.org>

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