26 November 2014
Mr President of the Human Rights Council
Mr Chairperson of this Forum
Special Rapporteur Ms Rita Iszak
1. I would like to thank the organisers of this Seventh Session of the Forum on Minority Issues
for inviting me to address this session of the forum: “Avoiding renewed violence-building
peace and managing diversity”.
2. In the context of my work over the last twenty years as a Commissioner in both the South
African and Sierra Leonean Truth and Reconciliation Commissions as well as a member of
the Panel advising the Secretary General on war crimes in Sri Lanka I have had to deal with
violations amounting to crimes against humanity which have been perpetrated by both state
and non-state actors against minority communities. These crimes have included extra judicial
killings, torture and sexual violence , enforced disappearances, displacement, the deprivation
of opportunities and a range of socio-economic rights violations including the seizure of land
and property, economic marginalization, the prohibition of community organization,
dismantling of political structures and deliberate forms of assimilation. At the heart of the
violations against minorities is exclusion, dehumanization, hate, discrimination, marginalisation
and inequality.
3. In all these contexts women and girls have had to bear the brunt of the violence and crimes
particularly sexual violence although in my most recent work, I have witnessed a rise in
sexual violence against both men and boys. In most of our society’s rape and sexual
violence are silent crimes with those responsible rarely held accountable? Many of the
victims testified to how sexual violence was used to instil fear, humiliation and ultimately
achieve complete subjugation. For many families, their pain and suffering is exacerbated by
the fact that they live in a twilight zone not knowing if a loved one is alive or dead. Many are
not allowed to mourn and conduct the sacred ceremonies for the dead.
4. In post-conflict societies, histories of exclusion, racism and nationalist violence often create
divisions so deep, that reconciliation seems impossible. This is compounded by the fact that
minority communities usually live under a pervasive sense of threat or fear of attack,
dehumanizing myths about the minority are spread by nationalist leaders, political groups and
religious leaders for their own political ends. Mistrust is a common factor particularly when