A/HRC/25/56 Rights Group states that: “Minorities in Iraq have continued to be targeted on the grounds of their religion or ethnicity since the US-led invasion and fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. They have suffered from killings, kidnappings, torture, harassment, forced conversions and the destruction of homes and property.”33 Persecution, human rights violations and targeted attacks have led to vast numbers of internally displaced persons and a mass exodus of minority communities to neighbouring countries, where they continue to experience severe challenges and poverty. Equally, in Egypt and the Syrian Arab Republic, the full extent of unrest and conflict on minorities is becoming evident and has far-reaching implications for their rights and security. 70. In Rakhine State in Myanmar, conflict between the Rakhine Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya communities erupted in 2012 and resulted in the killing of hundreds, the destruction of homes and property and the internal displacement of over 130,000 people, mostly minority Muslims. Tens of thousands of displaced people, and many thousands of others in villages affected by the conflict and insecurity, now have no access to livelihood activities or income, are dependent on humanitarian assistance for food, shelter, health care, education and water and sanitation. The conflict has had a catastrophic impact on their rights, access to essential services and development, forcing many into a condition of extreme poverty and insecurity. The Government of Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as citizens with implications for their enjoyment of all their human rights. G. Environmental sustainability 71. According to the report of the United Nations System Task Team on the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda: “Deepening resilience among vulnerable populations and reducing risks of disasters and other shocks must be central to limiting the social and economic costs of disasters, in terms of death, hunger, malnutrition, displacement and forced migration.”34 Equally, Claus H. Sorensen, Director-General of the European Commission Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection stated: Those who are most vulnerable and marginalised need primary attention when a disaster strikes, both because the impact of the disaster is likely to be higher on them than others, and because of the likelihood that they find themselves excluded from response and recovery efforts. By systematically addressing in each action the inclusion of those who are marginalised (in particular, persons affected by caste discrimination, minorities, as well as persons with disabilities, women, and the elderly), lives have been saved, the suffering of those in need has been alleviated, and their dignity protected.35 72. In South Asia, experiences from the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, the 2004 Asian Tsunami and flooding in Nepal in 2008, the Indian States of Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam during 2007–2009, and Pakistan in 2010, demonstrated that Dalits are frequently the worst affected and also often “systematically excluded from relief and 33 34 35 See Chris Chapman and Preti Taneja, Uncertain Refuge, Dangerous Return: Iraq’s Uprooted Minorities (Minority Rights, 2009), p. 9. Available from www.minorityrights.org/download.php?id=690. Realizing the Future We Want for All: Report to the Secretary-General. Available from www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/report.shtml. International Dalit Solidarity Network, Equality in aid: Addressing Caste Discrimination in Humanitarian Response (2013), p. 2. 19