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	States must promote the human rights of all members of every family by International Commission of Jurists   1 July 2015   UN Human Rights Council: Egypt and others’ initiative to “protect the family” bodes ill for family members’ human rights   Joint statement by the International Commission of Jurists and Amnesty International for the 29 session of the UN Human Rights Council (15 June –3 July 2015)   A group of States, led by Egypt, have a proposed a resolution on “protection of the family” at the ongoing 29th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council. Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, El Salvador, Mauritania, Morocco, Qatar, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia have submitted a seemingly innocuous draft resolution (A/HRC/29/L.25) that, in fact, underhandedly seeks to divert the Council from its institutional mandate focused on the effective promotion and protection of the human rights of the individuals towards protecting the purported rights of a social institution, namely, “the family”.   By subordinating the human rights of individual members of “the family”, especially women and girls, to the protection of the institution, the resolution, if adopted in its current form, would turn a blind eye to laws, policies and practices that violate or lead to the violation of the human rights of individuals within families, while, supposedly, simultaneously, “protecting the family”.   The draft resolution refers in vague terms to the need to “protect the family” without ever making clear from what, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that, pursuant to its institutional mandate, the Council’s work should address human rights violations and abuses, including those perpetrated by family members against one another.   Such abuses are aided and abetted by States’ failures to exercise due diligence to prevent them and to protect the human rights of each individual family member. Council members should reject this nefarious initiative, since under the pretext of “protecting the family” the resolution would undercut the Council’s important work on human rights abuses and violations, such as preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, the prevention of child, early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, including marital rape and intimate partner violence, crimes committed in the name of “honour” and instances of child abuse.   Supporting an initiative that disingenuously fails to adequately acknowledge these abuses and violations, which have been addressed in Council’s resolutions led by States from many regions, bodes ill for family members’ human rights.   Moreover, it risks fostering their root-causes, including widespread and systematic discrimination and inequality within certain families and in societies all over the world.   In light of the above, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists urge States committed to the promotion and protection of human rights of all persons to reject this draft resolution.   A resolution that seeks to encourage State’s policies aimed at effectively supporting families must contain the following minimum elements, which are currently missing from the draft text or are reflected in ways that are counterproductive to efforts aimed at addressing the above-mentioned concerns.   The sponsors of the resolution have rejected many proposals made in the negotiations that would have helped rectify the inexcusable omissions and concerns identified above.   Any Resolution on the family should, at a minimum, reaffirm that, pursuant to international human rights standards, whatever measures States take with the stated view of protecting families, must be consistent with the human rights of each individual family member.   Recognise that various forms of the family exist in all regions of the world, and that State family-oriented policies should address the needs of all family-members in all families, in compliance with international human rights standards.   Reaffirm the right of every person to enjoy family life, which includes the right to found a family, as well as to dissolve it; reaffirm the right to non-discrimination, equality before the law and equal protection of the law, including equal protection of the human rights of individual members of families.   Recognize that human rights abuses occur within some families and are perpetrated by family members against one another and that, pursuant to international human rights law, States are obliged to address these abuses, including by taking measures to protect victims of abuse, bringing those responsible to justice and promoting gender equality.   Reaffirm the duty of States to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and remedy human rights violations and abuses against all individuals, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons, including by family members against one another.   Align itself with and build on the Human Rights Council’s work on a number of related issues such as preventable maternal mortality and morbidity, the prevention of child, early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, domestic violence, including marital rape and intimate partner violence, crimes committed in the name of “honour”, and child abuse within families.   Recognize that concepts such as “traditions”, “morals”, “heritage” and “values” are ambiguous and have often been used to justify the marginalization of minority groups and gender-based inequalities, discrimination and violence, including in the context of the family, and reaffirm that such concepts may not be invoked to violate human rights nor to limit their scope.   Recognise that, pursuant to international human rights law, States have a positive obligation to work towards the elimination of harmful traditional or cultural beliefs, values, stereotypes or practices that are inconsistent with human rights, including in the context of the family.   The Human Rights Council needs to send an unequivocal message: States must promote the human rights of all members of every family. Protecting and promoting the rights and needs of individuals must be States’ primary concern.   http://www.icj.org/un-human-rights-councils-initiative-to-protect-the-family-bodes-ill-for-family-members-human-rights/ Visit the related web page
	Cities - the new battleground for minority and indigenous rights by Minority Rights Group International   The battle for respect for the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples is increasingly being played out in cities, says Minority Rights Group International (MRG) in its annual report.   The organization''s flagship annual global report, State of the World''s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2015, focuses on cities, and explores the many challenges communities face in urban areas, from segregation and lack of services, to targeted violence and exclusion.   ''The world''s greatest cities, large and small, are all examples of growth founded on cultural diversity, innovation and integration. But the urban reality for minority and indigenous communities is too often marked by slum conditions, police harassment and ghettoization,'' says Mark Lattimer, MRG''s Executive Director.   Minorities and indigenous peoples comprise many of the world''s urban slum dwellers.   From Dalit manual scavengers in ''sweeper colonies'' in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Afro-Colombians plagued by violence and extortion concentrated on the fringes of Colombia''s major cities, to communities fleeing ethnic violence in Democratic Republic of Congo congregating on the edges of Goma, minorities and indigenous peoples in informal settlements struggle with grinding poverty, lack of basic services, evictions, violence and sexual assault.   The report also finds that minorities and indigenous peoples are often segregated urban centres.   In Burma''s Rakhine state, thousands of Muslims displaced by communal violence are in isolated ghetto-like camps outside the city of Sittwe, whilst others are concentrated in the city''s only Muslim neighbourhood, which they are not allowed to leave. In Bulgaria more than half of Roma live on the margins of cities, whilst in Paris, France, minorities and migrants are clustered in peripheral banlieues with poor housing, widespread unemployment and high levels of crime. Acholi Quarter in Kampala is largely populated by formerly rural Acholi from Northern Uganda, uprooted by years of conflict. The area is known for substandard housing, poor health and limited job opportunities.   Urban areas, although providing economic opportunities, can often magnify existing patterns of discrimination, says the report. Even among the urban poor, minorities and indigenous peoples may suffer exclusion.   Minority clans living in the informal settlements of Mogadishu, Somalia, which have sprung up throughout the city as migrants flee conflict in the country, continue to be plagued by insecurity, sexual violence and discrimination, making it impossible for them to make ends meet. In Lahore, Pakistan, the bulk of the city''s street sweepers are Christians - a fact that reinforces their stigmatization - whilst most of their supervisors are Muslim. The police deaths in the United States of African-Americans were interpreted by demonstrators as reflecting institutionalized racism within the police force, provoking broader discussion of the inequalities experienced by black citizens, particularly in cities.   The pressures of assimilation in urban areas can also pose a threat to minority and indigenous identities and culture.   In Australia while 56 per cent of Aboriginals in rural areas speak an indigenous language, this figure falls to just 1 per cent in the country''s cities.   Many young Endorois in Kenya move to cities away from their rural cattle-herding lifestyle in search of jobs and a better education. With little chance of returning home, they find themselves increasingly out of touch with their culture.   Some minorities may even disappear from the urban map altogether, such as in the Middle East.   Many of Beirut''s once diverse neighbourhoods have been left homogenized by the increasingly sectarian nature of Lebanon''s conflict - a legacy that sadly persists to this day.   In Iraq ongoing violence is increasingly leading to the eradication of religious minorities in cities. ISIS, besides displacing minority communities in the areas under its control, has also destroyed churches, shrines and non-Sunni mosques. As a result, the historical legacy of centuries of coexistence is being erased.   Nevertheless, the report also includes numerous cases of inspiring success stories for minorities and indigenous peoples in cities, as well as examples of the substantial benefits their inclusion can bring for all urban residents.   In Oceania, for example, traditional indigenous solutions to environmental hazards are being applied to the defence of urban areas from climate change. Similarly, in Baguio City in the Philippines, indigenous women are earning a living using traditional cultural methods for recycling.   ''Protecting minority and indigenous peoples'' rights in the city benefits not only the communities themselves, but the entire urban population. Promoting diversity and inclusion is therefore essential for any city seeking to become successful, sustainable and just in the long term,'' adds Lattimer.   * Minority Rights Group International is a international human rights organization working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples, working with more than 150 partners in over 50 countries.   http://www.minorityrights.org/13061/state-of-the-worlds-minorities/state-of-the-worlds-minorities-and-indigenous-peoples-2015.html http://minorityvoices.org/news.php?action=view&id=1810
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