| |The Dalit: Born into a life of discrimination and stigma
For centuries, the Dalit minority in South Asia have faced discrimination, marginalisation, stigma and violence. Beena Pallical is the General Secretary of the National Campaign on Dalit Human Rights in India. She dedicates her life’s work to fighting for Dalit rights.
19 April 2021
| |Fight against slavery must continue despite pandemic
The fight against all forms of slavery has turned more difficult under the pandemic, but anti-slavery activist Brahim Ramadhane won’t stop fighting. “I do this because I belong to this community of ex-slaves and I will give up my life, all of my life, for this fight.”
2 December 2020
| |Rohingya refugees and the right to education
A learning centre in Malaysia is giving Rohingya refugees a chance to have an education. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet visited the centre on a recent trip to the country.
15 October 2019
| |Education in mother tongue a key element in success of minority youth
“Language is the key to inclusion. Recognizing the kind of importance that people place on their own language fosters the kind of participation in development that achieves long lasting results,” Elzbieta Kuzborska from the Association of Polish Academics in Lithuania told the Minority Forum which took place recently in Geneva.
13 December 2017
| |Cartoonists for minorities
Renowned cartoonists describe how their work contributes to raising awareness of the rights of minorities and combating discrimination.
12 December 2016
| |Protecting and promoting minority rights in Kyrgyzstan
Utkir Dzhabbarov believes that learning how to better use the UN human rights instruments and mechanisms is key to help improve the lives of ethnic minority communities in Kyrgyzstan. Dzhabbarov, who belongs to the Uzbek minority community in Kyrgyzstan, was a participant in the UN Human Rights Office Minority Fellowship Programme.
3 March 2015
| |Learning to live in peace in Kyrgyzstan
Following an intense ethnic conflict in Kyrgyzstan in 2010, today students at Osh State University start thinking critically about ethnicity through a course initiated by the UN Human Rights Regional Office in Central Asia.
21 February 2014
| |“A little bit of money makes a real difference”
Romani human rights activist, Valeriu Nicolae, runs and funds from his own resources a project aimed at giving young people in a Bucharest ghetto a future free of drugs and crime through education and sports.
12 June 2013
| |Empowering Roma in rural Hungary
UN and civil society are making efforts to empower the Roma in Cserehát region in their struggle against socio-economic exclusion and racial discrimination.
25 April 2013
| |Mohamed El Hor Abeidy from the Haratin community in Mauritania
Mohamed El Hor Abeidy says through his participation in the UN Human Rights office Minorities Fellowship Programme he expects to learn more about the UN human rights system “which will enable us to defend our rights without violating the rights of others
6 November 2012
| |Husam Abdullah Ali: human rights activist from Iraq
“The right to language and education for all should be guaranteed,” says Husam Abdullah Ali, a 28-year-old human rights activist who participated in the UN Human Rights office Minorities Fellowship Programme in Geneva.
16 August 2012
| |Minority Fellow: Enam Abuljalil El Asfour
“I work at the national level to reduce the gap between the different components of the Saudi Arabian population and to flatten the differences between social groups,” says UN Human Rights Minority Fellow Enam Abuljalil El Asfour.
17 July 2012
| |The Minority Rights Declaration at 20
An expert panel reflects on 20 years of achievements in promoting the rights of national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
20 April 2012
| |“I commit to end caste discrimination and untouchability”
Campaigning for an end to caste-based discrimination – the Human Rights Office in Nepal and the National Dalit Commission of Nepal call for personal pledges and the implementation of a new law to end the deep-seated practice of caste discrimination.
8 November 2011
| |The story of Khalid Hussain
Khalid Hussain appeals to the international community to help the Urdu speaking Bihari minority achieve equal rights in Bangladesh
22 April 2009
| |The story of Elena Gorolová
A Roma woman’s horror at discovering she had been involuntarily sterilized and her courage in the fight for justice.
21 April 2009
In this section
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
Commentary on the Declaration