A/HRC/49/46 E. A neglected tool for conflict prevention: the missing minority rights framework 58. Since most contemporary conflicts are internal and usually involve grievances over breaches of the human rights of minorities, logic would lead one to expect that early warning measures would be privileged if conflict prevention were taken seriously as a matter of priority. This does not seem to have been the case in recent years. 59. The Independent Expert referred to a few hopeful signs in 2010, including that Governments, donors and intergovernmental organizations would allocate significant attention and resources to minority issues as sources of conflict; however, she admitted rather generously that the picture in that regard was “mixed” at the time. 45 60. She mentioned a number of initiatives, such as the establishment of the mandate of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, with an analysis framework to identify threats to minority communities at an early stage, such as the demonization of minority communities and indicators of broader significance to minorities, such as conflicts over land, power, security and expressions of group identity, such as language, religion and culture, and attacks on cultural and religious property and symbols, though admitted that there was a need for additional tools that focused on chronic abuses of minority rights at the earliest stages, to identify situations needing more upstream preventive action.46 61. She also referred favourably to the 2005 World Summit Outcome, with States Members of the United Nations accepting the responsibility to protect populations in relation to preventing genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, though also added that a broader focus on minority rights protections as a tool for protection from conflict would need to be the task of other mechanisms. 47 62. She identified a number of United Nations offices and agencies, including the Department of Political Affairs as the lead United Nations agency for conflict prevention and peacemaking, the United Nations Inter-agency Framework for Coordination on Preventive Action and the then Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, as well as good practices and initiatives in the field and other branches of the United Nations. She in particular spoke highly of the UNDP publication Marginalised Minorities in Development Programming: A UNDP Resource Guide and Toolkit, which included sections on early warning on minorities and conflict, as well as integrating minorities into the UNDP programme cycle.48 63. While she adopted a positive tone and acknowledged that some United Nations country missions and field operations were more closely focused on identifying the early warning signs of grievances and human rights breaches in their conflict prevention activities than others, the Independent Expert often noted the absence of expertise on minority rights, pointing out, for example, that the Department of Political Affairs had a focal point on indigenous peoples, but not one on minorities. The standby team also did not include a professional with comprehensive expertise on minority rights. 49 64. Looking ahead, she emphasized that one of the earliest indicators of potential violence was the chronic disregard of minority rights, that early warning systems must have the expertise necessary to be alert to such indicators, and that it was necessary for early warning mechanisms within the United Nations system to focus more strongly on minority rights. She added, however, that despite some excellent practices in the field, there was no mechanism for or consistent practice of ensuring that minority issues were mainstreamed across the incountry work of entities in the United Nations system. 50 65. It appears that none of the recommendations that the Independent Expert made in 201051 was implemented by United Nations entities. Nor did the Special Rapporteur receive 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 Ibid., para. 65. Ibid., para. 67. Ibid., para. 68. UNDP, Marginalised Minorities in Development Programming, pp. 141–147. A/HRC/16/45, para. 69. Ibid., para. 84. Ibid., paras. 80–102. 15