UNITED NATIONS • Forum on Minority Issues
supported. The rights of minority women to equality before the law and to
non-discrimination must be given priority over long-standing harmful practices.
Governments should ensure that any prohibition of minority practices, that are not per
se harmful, be based on reasonable and objective grounds, proportionate to the aims
pursued, and not result in an indiscriminate attack on minority cultures. Practices that
lead to and/or perpetuate gender inequality or violate the rights of individual women
in certain minority communities should be rectified, including through dialogue
directly with the communities concerned and with the effective participation of
minority women.
32. Governments should allow full access to regions where minorities, and
minority women in particular, predominantly live during country visits by special
procedures as well as to international organizations and the media, in order for the
latter to be able to collect information directly from minority women on their
experiences and bring more visibility to the situation of minority women and the
challenges they face.
B.
National human rights institutions
33. National human rights institutions should ensure that the full spectrum of views,
issues and challenges and the diversity of their respective societies are reflected in
their activities and programmes. They should consider specific mechanisms in their
secretariat to address minority issues, for instance, a focal point on gender and
discrimination, with particular attention paid to issues relevant to minority women.
34. National human rights institutions should design a programme of work to
analyse the implementation of non-discrimination legislation for minority women.
They should analyse domestic legislation and customary laws that are discriminatory
towards minority women and recommend policy and legislative reforms where
appropriate. They should also assist in developing programmes to enhance the
implementation of non-discrimination legislation, including with regard to minority
women’s access to education and vocational training, employment, labour rights,
social security, financial services and land and property rights.
35. National human rights institutions should support Government actors in such
areas as the training of public officials, the design and implementation of gender and
racial equality projects, and ensuring access to justice for minority women. They
should also act on behalf of minority women and facilitate their access to justice.
36. In the design of promotional and educational human rights material and
programmes, national human rights institutions should ensure that they mainstream
not only a gender perspective but also a minority rights focus, with particular
attention to the specific situation of women who are members of the minority groups
in society.
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Compilation of Recommendations of the First Four Sessions 2008 to 2011