[cure-news] Rights groups welcome new UN forum on minorities

[Ida Hakim]

Rights groups welcome new UN forum on minorities 
28 September 2007

The United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva has today voted 
to establish a new Forum on Minorities Issues - a breakthrough move 
welcomed by minority rights activists.

Minority Rights Group (MRG), the International Movement against All 
Forms of Discrimination (IMADR) and other NGOs have campaigned 
vigorously to prevent the voices of minorities being silenced at the UN, 
following a threat to dismantle the long-standing expert committee on 
minorities without any guarantees on what - if anything - would replace it.

MRG's Head of International Advocacy, Clive Baldwin, said: "MRG welcomes 
the fact that member states responded to the desires of minorities, for 
a more effective mechanism at the UN to discuss and begin to address 
their needs."

Last week, MRG and IMADR presented a petition, signed by over 185 
people, to the Council, calling for the establishment of a new forum for 
minorities at the UN.   

The resolution, sponsored by Austria, was passed without opposition by 
the 47 member states on Friday.

Once established, the forum will be a two-day annual gathering where 
experts (both at national and international level), academics and most 
importantly, minorities themselves will be able to highlight issues 
which affect some of the most marginalized and impoverished communities 
in the world.  

Minorities make up 20 per cent of the global population and exist in 
virtually every country in the world. MRG and IMADR point out that for 
the UN's work building a strong, peaceful global community to be 
effective, it needs to listen to minorities.

The new forum provides a fresh opportunity to turn this into a reality. 
But Georgina Stevens of IMADR cautions. "This is just a beginning. The 
forum now needs to become an effective mechanism at the UN where 
minorities can effectively participate and have their concerns answered."