A/71/254 56. On the one hand, the disadvantage experienced by minorities in terms of accessing humanitarian relief in crisis is often explained by existing logistical limitations. In crisis and conflict situations, humanitarian assistance may be concentrated in capital cities and/or in a small numbe r of very large, officially recognized refugee or internally displaced persons camps, with very little reaching the periphery where minority and vulnerable populations may reside. 57. However, while external constraints on emergency responses, including security, access and cost, are certainly significant, they are barriers that should and could be overcome with targeted planning and design. Furthermore, while humanitarian actors need to be sensitive to risk factors during conflict, risk aversion cannot mean that humanitarian actors should prioritize the easiest -to-reach over the most vulnerable. To the contrary, a key consideration in any successful humanitarian intervention is the capacity to overcome, or at least adapt to, certain constraints to ensure non-discriminatory and equal access to humanitarian assistance for all. 58. While each crisis situation is unique, in the sections below, the Special Rapporteur highlights issues in a number of key areas of concern that can potentially lead to or heighten the vulnerability of minorities in situations of humanitarian crises. 1. Threats to existence: violence against minorities in times of crises 59. Minorities affected by crises and disasters may be specifically targeted and may be at particular risk with regard to their physical safety and security both during crises and in their aftermath. Indeed, and regrettably, many contemporary conflicts are based on superiority ideologies in which targeting minorities is one of the key drivers of the conflict (see A/68/266). Challenges facing minorities during conflict may include, inter alia, violence and xenophobic attacks against them, whether physical or verbal attacks. This could be attributed to a breakdown of law and order during conflict, or the targeting of the minority group may in fact play a role in the source conflict. In some cases, the physical integrity of minorities during conflict can even be a key aspect of the conflict, and amounting to ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity or atrocity crimes. 60. Minorities may also experience particular restrictions on their freedom of movement during conflict and humanitarian crises, including more frequent stops or because of their identity even being blocked at border and checkpoints when attempting to flee conflicts, as well as intimidation, discrimination or even violence against them when trying to flee. For example, it has been well documented that sub-Saharan African migrants and asylum seekers, seeking to transi t through countries in North Africa en route to Europe have been particularly targeted on account of their race, and suffered violence. 21 In some instances, minorities seeking asylum status may be arbitrarily detained and forcefully deported to their home countries without adequate assessment of their asylum claims 22 and/or may __________________ 21 22 16/25 Amnesty International, “Libya is full of cruelty: stories of abduction, sexual violence and abuse from migrants and refugees” (London, 2015). Available from www.amnesty.org.uk/sites/default/ files/libya_is_full_of_cruelty.pdf. See Urgent appeal, case No. LKA 9/2014 see also OHCHR, “Sri Lanka: United Nations experts alarmed at deportations of Pakistani asylum seekers without assessment”, 14 August 2015, available from www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14942&. 16-13193