A/HRC/61/41 northern Iraq by Da’esh in 2014,17 the targeted killings of Rohingya in Myanmar since 2017 18 and the forcible evictions of the Hazara in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. 19 Recent targeted killings in the Syrian Arab Republic against Alawis20 and Druzes21 also fall into this category. The result is massive loss of life. In most cases, it has or will amount to genocide under international law. 55. Deportation or forced displacement is often labelled as “ethnic or religious cleansing”. Historical and contemporary examples include the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes during the Nakbah in 1948,22 the “ethnic cleansing” of the Bosanska Krajina region by the Republika Srpska Army in 1992 or the forced displacement of Rohingya populations to Bangladesh since 2017.23 Such acts, regardless of whether they are conducted violently or through coercive measures, constitute crimes against humanity under international law in most cases. 56. Eradication can also occur in more subtle ways, in particular by targeting the identity, language or culture of minority groups by preventing the intergenerational transmission of elements of minorities’ identities. As an example of such practice, the boarding school education system implemented by China in Tibet is aimed at erasing the Tibetan language and identity.24 Such forms of eradication constitute at least a violation of article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 2. Exclusion 57. The worst form of exclusion is the denial of registration for persons belonging to minorities. Children born from forcefully displaced persons, or from single mothers in some cultures, cannot be registered at birth; this constitutes a violation of article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 25 Similarly, in Iraq, numerous Iraqis of African descent and Roma are not officially registered.26 Such forms of exclusion from the enjoyment of any right cannot be tolerated, whether they concern nationals or foreigners with no national status (e.g. potential refugees or stateless persons). Untouchability practices, which are very common in South Asia with regard to the lowest scheduled castes, are also forms of exclusion, and are contrary to the very foundation of human rights according to which all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights (see also sect. C.5 below). 58. To a lesser extent, but also a grave violation of international human rights standards, is the refusal by State authorities to register persons belonging to minorities as who they are. This includes the refusal to properly register a name, patronymic or surname. For example, in Morocco, civil registry officials have repeatedly refused to record traditional Amazigh names, such as Yuba or Simane, on the grounds that they were not on an approved list of names, forcing families into additional legal procedures to secure registration.27 In Latvia, a Russian-Jewish minority member was compelled to accept an altered spelling of his name with a Latvian grammatical ending, after his request to use the original form was denied by the authorities and courts.28 States may also refuse to acknowledge religious affiliation. For 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 8 See https://iraq.un.org/sites/default/files/2024-09/Sinjar%20Brief_Public_UPDATED.pdf. See A/HRC/39/64. See A/HRC/49/24. See https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=30176; https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=29798; and https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=38959. See https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=30247. See https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136662. See https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/07/1165369. See www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/02/china-un-experts-alarmed-separation-1-milliontibetan-children-families-and. Ratified by 196 States. See https://jummar.media/en/3840. Human Rights Watch, “Morocco/Western Sahara: more freedom to name their children”,14 December 2010, see www.hrw.org/news/2010/12/14/morocco/western-sahara-more-freedom-nametheir-children. Human Rights Committee, Raihman v. Latvia (CCPR/C/100/D/1621/2007). GE.25-20927