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	Minorities and their rights matter to prevent conflict by Fernand de Varennes Special Rapporteur on minority issues   Apr. 2022   "The position of minorities across the world is grave – and is getting worse with a rise in hate speech and hate crimes targeting minorities around the world," said Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues.   De Varennes was speaking to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where he presented his report on conflict prevention through the protection of the human rights of minorities.   The report pointed out that the root causes of most violent conflicts are linked to violations of the human rights of minorities, and called for the mainstreaming of minority issues in conflict prevention efforts.   Conflicts globally are increasingly inside countries, the report states, often starting with an underlying tension around the treatment, or perceived weak position and place, of minorities.   De Varennes said that to address the common root causes of most conflicts, it is essential to deal with the grievances, real or perceived, before these can be instrumentalized by political forces or create explosive conditions that lead to violence.   "Since most contemporary violent conflicts involve aggrieved minorities, strategies to prevent conflicts involving minorities should figure prominently in international, regional and national initiatives and address directly the root causes of exclusion and injustice," he said.   This includes ensuring equality in access to economic and social opportunities for minorities, effective political participation and representation, measures to ensure their identity, and particularly their languages, are used in education, and constructive development of practices and institutional arrangements to accommodate diversity within society.   The special rapporteur also warned against new trends that have added another powerful factor contributing to the global increase in violent conflicts: the rise of hate speech, xenophobia, racism and populist nationalism in social media, which has been fueling violence and attacks against minorities worldwide.   "The phenomenon of hate speech in social media was neither as visible nor as prominent in 2010 but appears now to be a significant driver in creating a context where minorities may find themselves increasingly targeted as ´others´ or as threats to the majority ´nation´, leading to an ´us versus them´ polarization, instrumentalized by majoritarian political personalities for short-term electoral gains," the report states.   Despite 2022 marking the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the presence, position and treatment of minorities has not improved in recent years.   De Varennes said the UN failed to follow up on the prevention recommendations of the first Independent Expert on minorities more than 10 years ago. Those recommendations had said that attention to minority rights at an early stage – before grievances lead to tensions and violence – would save countless lives and promote peace and stability.   "Even at the United Nations and its initiatives, too many avoid or disregard the fact that certain minorities are often amongst the world’s most vulnerable communities – and not accidently."   The expert said the international community has to fill the significant gaps in early effective conflict prevention mechanisms that are failing to focus on the main drivers in most contemporary conflicts.   http://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/ahrc4946-conflict-prevention-through-protection-human-rights-minorities http://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2021/03/report-online-hate-increasing-against-minorities-says-expert http://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-minority-issues
	Acts of terror against civilians should be unequivocally condemned by UN News, Alliance of Civilizations, agencies   22 Mar. 2024   UN condemns deadly terrorist attack in Moscow. (UN News, agencies)   Armed Gunmen have stormed the Crocus City Hall in Moscow's Krasnogorsk suburb firing on concertgoers, killing more than 130 people and injuring 180 others ahead of a sold-out rock concert.   Up to 6,000 people were gathered there for a Friday night rock concert by veteran band Picnic when the shooting started. Over 100 people are receiving treatment for injuries in 17 hospitals across Moscow.   According to eyewitnesses quoted in the Russian media, the attackers fired indiscriminately at anyone in sight. Some of those who tried to escape from the gunmen were thought to have fled to the basement, and others to the roof.   "They were just walking and gunning down everyone," concertgoer Anastasia Rodionova recalled. Vitaly, another visitor, saw the attack unfolding from a balcony. "They threw petrol bombs, everything started burning," he said. Tass state news agency reported that around a third of the building had been set alight.   The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “firmly” condemned the attack on the concert hall.   “We consider absolutely intolerable the attack that took place in Moscow and we encourage all countries to cooperate with each other in order to make sure that ISIS [ISIL] will not have the capacity to strike anywhere else in the world,” he told reporters.   The UN secretary-general called ISIL “a terrorist organisation that is operating in several parts of the world and is a very serious threat to us all”. “It needs to be fought with determination, with a lot of international cooperation,” he said.   “The Secretary-General conveys his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the people of the Russian Federation. He wishes those injured a speedy recovery.”   The United Nations Security Council “condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack”.   On Saturday, a makeshift memorial was set up outside the concert hall where Muscovites lit candles and laid flowers. Others queued to donate blood for the victims of the massacre. In Moscow and other towns and cities, electronic billboards displayed the image of a single burning candle and the word "Skorbim" - "we mourn."   Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the "barbaric terrorist attack" on innocent civilians and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. He declared Sunday to be a day of national mourning and weekend events have been cancelled across Russia.   16 June 2023   Horrific terror attack on school children in Uganda universally condemned.   Nearly 40 pupils have been killed at a school in western Uganda by extremists linked to the IS terrorist group. According to officals the terrorists attacked the Lhubiriha secondary school in Mpondwe on Friday. They entered dormitories, setting fire and using machetes to kill and maim the pupils, officials said.   Authorities blamed the massacre on the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed extremist group with ties to IS (ISIS), which has been launching attacks from bases in volatile eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) targeting civilians.   Ugandan authorities have recovered the bodies of 41 people, including 37 students, who were burned, shot, or hacked to death by the attackers at the secondary school. Ugandan security forces are hunting for the murderers.   In a statement the UN Secretary-General strongly condemned the attack. Those responsible for this appalling act must be brought to justice. The latest reports indicate that dozens of students were killed, and that several others were abducted.   The Secretary-General extends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and the Government and people of Uganda. He calls for the immediate release of those abducted.   The Secretary-General reiterates the importance of collective efforts, including through enhanced regional partnerships, to tackle cross-border insecurity between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda and restore durable peace in the area.   Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on brutal school attack in Uganda: “I am outraged by the attack last night on a secondary school in Mpondwe, Uganda near the border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo that has, according to media reports, left over 40 people dead, mostly students, with others injured or abducted.   “This was a heinous and unconscionable act of violence. An attack on a school and school children in this manner is an assault on the very progress young people have led in Uganda for years.   “UNICEF calls for the immediate release and safe return of all those who have been kidnapped, and extends its sincere condolences to the loved ones of the victims and to the nation, as it grapples with this senseless violence.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/statement-unicef-executive-director-catherine-russell-brutal-school-attack-uganda http://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2023-06-17/statement-attributable-the-spokesperson-of-the-secretary-general-uganda   30 Jan. 2023   UN Secretary-General strongly condemns deadly mosque attack in Pakistan. (UN News)   The UN chief and top officials have strongly condemned the suicide bombing at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday, that left at least 100 dead and 225 injured.   News reports stated that a faction of the militant group known as the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred at a crowded mosque. Reports showed that the bombing caused the roof to collapse on top of those inside.   “It is particularly abhorrent that the attack occurred at a place of worship,” the Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement. “Freedom of religion or belief, including the ability to worship in peace and security, is a universal human right.”   Extending his condolences to the victims’ families and wishes for a prompt recovery to those injured, Mr. Guterres reiterated the solidarity of the United Nations with the Government and people of Pakistan in their efforts to address terrorism and violent extremism.   Also condemning the attack, the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), Miguel Angel Moratinos, emphasized in a statement that all forms of violence and acts of terror against civilians and religious sites on account of their religion or belief, are intolerable and unjustifiable and should be unequivocally condemned.   “Houses of worship are sacred places where worshippers should be able to practice and declare their faith safely and freely,” he said, also expressing deep concern at the overall rise in instances of discrimination, intolerance and all acts of violence directed against members of any religious or other communities.   This includes incidents motivated by Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and Christianophobia and prejudices against persons of other religions, beliefs, gender or race.   Calling for mutual respect of all religions and faiths and for fostering a culture of fraternity and peace, he asked governments and other stakeholders to support the UN Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites, which has been developed by the Alliance, at the request of the Secretary-General.   http://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132987 http://www.unaoc.org/2023/01/press-statement-on-the-terrorist-bomb-attack-on-a-mosque-in-pakistan/ http://www.unaoc.org/2023/01/press-statement-on-the-terrorist-attack-outside-a-synagogue-east-jerusalem/ http://www.unaoc.org/2023/01/press-statement-on-the-church-stabbing-in-southern-spain/ http://www.unaoc.org/resource/united-nations-plan-of-action-to-safeguard-religious-sites/   Nov. 2022   Somalia: Devastating Terror Attack on Education Ministry.   On Saturday, 29 October, a car bomb exploded near the busy Zobe intersection in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu. A second explosion occurred as first responders were arriving to aid the victims of the initial bombing, near the Ministry of Education building.   The double car bombings struck the Ministry of Education as secondary school students and their families gathered to collect their graduation certificates.   The armed Islamist extremist group Al-Shabaab has claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 121 people and wounded over 300.   Sadik Dudishe, spokesperson of the Somali Police Force, said, “The ruthless terrorists killed mothers. Some of them died with their children trapped on their backs.”   The incident was the second major attack on the Zobe intersection in the last five years. In October 2017 a truck bomb exploded, killing almost 600 people and injuring hundreds of others in the deadliest attack of its kind in Somalia's history.   Al-Shabab has frequently claimed responsibility for attacks targeting civilians and civilian structures, in violation of the laws of war. They’ve also repeatedly attacked education facilities, teachers, and students.   In recent months Al-Shabaab has increasingly targeted and attacked civilians and civilian infrastructure. Since late August Al-Shabaab has perpetrated several attacks in populated areas in Mogadishu and Hiiraan province that have killed and injured scores of civilians, including women, children and humanitarian aid workers.   Targeted attacks on civilians, civilian infrastructure and humanitarian aid workers are prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.   Meanwhile, 8 million Somalis are severely impacted by a historic drought, threatening famine to hundreds of thousands, and severe child malnutrition.   The UN has warned that almost 1 million people in need are in areas under Al-Shabaab control and inaccessible to aid workers. The drought has also displaced over 1.1 million people, placing them at further risk of violence and exploitation by Al-Shabaab and other armed groups.   http://www.globalr2p.org/countries/somalia/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/01/somalia-reeling-devastating-attack-education-ministry http://reliefweb.int/report/somalia/somalia-drought-response-and-famine-prevention-1-24-october-2022 http://reliefweb.int/country/som http://www.hrw.org/news/2021/10/25/afghanistan-surge-islamic-state-attacks-shia http://news.un.org/en/story/2022/06/1119852 http://hatecrime.osce.org/index.php/ http://news.un.org/en/podcast/uniting-against-hate Visit the related web page
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