Draft Resolution: INTER-ETHNIC CONFLICTS INVOLVING MINORITIES

DRAFT RESOLUTION 1

Agenda item 2: INTER-ETHNIC CONFLICTS INVOLVING MINORITIES

Sponsors: India, South Africa, United Kingdom

Signatories: Algeria, Australia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Sweden, United States of America

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming that all States have the obligation to promote and respect human rights of all individuals as stipulated in the United Nations Charter and all subsequent documents relating to human rights,

Having adopted various international documents containing non-discrimination provisions, such as the United Nations Charter of 1945, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, as well as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 1965, the UNESCO Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice of 1978, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief of 1981, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989,

Recalling and taking into consideration article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

Noting the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 1948, the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid of 1973 and the Convention on the Non-Applicability of Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity of 1974, 

Further recalling General Assembly resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992 on the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities,

Reiterating the need for States, minorities and majorities to search for peaceful and constructive solutions to problems affecting minorities,

Aware of the fact that persons belonging to minorities throughout the world continuously face serious discrimination, exclusion and are generally in a disadvantaged position in relation to the majority population,

Believing that the protection of human rights of minorities is directly correlated to conflict prevention,

Considering that the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities contribute to political and social stability and peace and enrich the cultural diversity and heritage of the society,

Deeply regretting all racially, ethnically and religiously motivated threats, attacks and violence;

Concerned at the frequency and severity of disputes and conflicts involving minorities in many countries, and their often tragic consequences, and that persons belonging to minorities often suffer disproportionately the effects of conflict resulting in the violation of their human rights,

Reaffirming General Assembly resolution 46/242 of 25 August 1992, in which it states that the abhorrent practice of “ethnic cleansing” constitutes a grave and serious violation of international humanitarian law,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 57/337 of 3 July 2003 on prevention of armed conflict, in which the General Assembly affirmed, inter alia, that the ethnic, cultural and religious identity of minorities, where they exist, must be protected,

Deeply concerned by the fact that persons belonging to minorities are oftentimes not fully included in the economic, political and social life of their countries of citizenship,

Concerned also with instances of victimization or marginalization of persons belonging to minorities in situations of political or economic instability,

Guided by the ideals of democracy, the rule of law and respect for fundamental human rights, while also acknowledging the inviolability of the principle of territorial integrity,

Reaffirming our commitment to the above mentioned 1992 Declaration,

Recognizing the diverse realities and challenges faced by different States in dealing with minority issues and rights due to vastly different geographical and historical experiences,

1. Strongly deplores all violations of human rights of individuals, including members of national minorities, minority groups or minority communities;

2. Calls upon States to comply with the international human rights law and the international humanitarian law;

3. Calls upon States to protect the existance of national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities within their respective territories; 

4. Urges all States to encourage the spirit of tolerance, respect for human rights of all individuals and promote inter-ethnic and inter-cultural dialogue and brotherhood among all individuals and communities regardless of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity or affiliation;

5. Reminds States that persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate in all aspects of life of the larger national society;

6. Emphasizes the importance of raising awareness and promoting greater equality for all individuals;

7. Invites States to develop new strategies to tackle racial inequalities by addressing specific obstacles and barriers, which keep certain disadvantaged groups back;

8.  Urges States to take appropriate actions and provide appropriate conditions for full participation of persons belonging to minorities in all aspects of political, economic, social, religious and cultural life;

9. Urges all States to adopt an equal opportunities framework or approach in the areas of education, employment, social services and criminal justice in order to close the gap between minority and non-minority populations;

10. Further invites all States to lift unnecessary barriers to accessing and receiving social services for their citizens;

11. Reaffirms the right to education of all minority groups and equal and non-discriminatory access to quality education for minorities;

12. Reaffirms  the right to equal and safe access to health services for minorities;

13. Calls upon States to take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life;

14. Emphasizes the importance of transparency in the working of state institutions, agencies and state-funded programs when it comes to equal opportunities by reporting on equal opportunity practices, developments and statistics;  

15. Notes that any call for equal opportunities also requires States to provide legal remedies and legal aid to individuals who are members of minorities in order to bring discrimination cases into national civil courts, and therefore calls upon States to ensure that all individuals deservedly have access to the justice system;

16. Reaffirms that equal rights to effective political participation is an integral part of ensuring the protection of minority rights and allowing persons belonging to minorities to engage in decision-making on legislation and policies affecting them, particularly because it can end suffering of individuals due to discrimination and exclusion;

17. Encourages the adoption of anti-discrimination laws, policies and programmes, while also implementing anti-discrimination measures which would protect all individuals from threats or acts of discrimination, hostility or violence without disregarding the needs of all individuals, but particularly those belonging to minority groups;

18. Deplores all racially, ethnically and religiously motivated violence and hate crime;

19. Further deplores all racially, ethnically and religiously motivated acts of terrorism and extremism that undermine the spirit of inter-cultural tolerance, dialogue and brotherhood among coexisting communities;

20. Strongly condemns policies and ideologies aimed at promoting racial hatred and “ethnic cleansing” in any form;

21. Calls upon all States to cooperate in eliminating all forms of racially, ethnically and religiously motivated violence, including “ethnic cleansing”;

22. Further reminds States that increasing cooperation and engagement with underrepresented minority groups is an effective tactic in uprooting causes and preponderance to racially, ethnically and religiously motivated violence;

23. Expresses its concern over the negative impact of underdevelopment and poverty on inter-ethnic conflicts and further stresses the importance of development as a significant factor in elimination of the root causes of inter-ethnic conflicts;

24. Endorses any and all attempts at building trust, confidence and partnerships across communities and actively engaging with representatives of local minority communities as an important step in tackling hate crime, violence and extremism through an integrated and broad approach rather than limiting strategies to isolated initiatives;

25. Further recommends States to build up capacities to monitor tensions between local minority communities, which could act as an early warning system for local and national governments to mitigate;

26. Further advises all States to develop or strengthen state measures for tackling hate crime by taking practical and effective actions as a means of preventing intolerance, discrimination and all forms of extremism;

27. Calls upon all States to improve their mechanisms for monitoring and reporting hate crime;

28. Stresses the importance for all States to ensure that all individuals and communities irrespective of their distinguishing characteristics are protected by the police or security forces in a non-discriminatory manner,

29. Further calls upon that all States remain committed to prosecuting all racially, ethnically and religiously motivated crimes legitimately, fairly and in due process;

30. Requests States to refrain from violence and armed attacks against civilians in ethnic minority regions or against persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic  minority groups, as it impedes the peace, development and stability of the State and violates international human rights law and international humanitarian law;

31. Recognizes the role of civil society organizations in preventing inter-ethnic conflicts involving minorities;

32. Suggests the Human Rights Council to consider the strengthening of the mandate of the Independent Expert on Minority Issues to promote the implementation of this resolution, including through consultations with Governments, taking into account existing international standards and national legislation concerning minorities; 

33. Calls the Independent Expert on Minority Issues to coordinate the exchange of best practices, inter alia, via the Forum on Minority Issues;

34. Encourages regional organizations to coordinate the regional protection of minority rights and their cooperation with the Independent Expert;

35. Recognizes the potential for regional organizations to act as effective agents engaged in inter-ethnic conflict prevention particularly because of their familiarity with the regional environment and challenges pertaining to minority issues;

36. Confirms that nothing in the present resolution may be construed as contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, including principle of equality among individuals, as well as sovereign equality, territorial integrity and political independence of States.