1. Introduction The aim of this guide is to demystify the human rights mechanisms and procedures of the United Nations (UN) and to demonstrate how minorities and minority nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) can use these tools to promote respect for minority rights. The guide gives an overview of the mechanisms available, highlights their strengths and weaknesses as instruments for minorities to use in their work, and emphasizes NGOs’ contributions. There is no universally accepted definition of ‘minorities’, and the word is interpreted differently in different societies. In this guide we do not attempt to define the term ‘minority’. In general, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) uses a broad definition in its work: a group of people, usually a numerical minority (although sometimes a majority) who are different from the dominant group(s) in ethnic origin, language, religion, culture and status, and who suffer prejudice, discrimination or exclusion. MRG follows the principle of self-identification whereby a particular group may choose to identify itself as it wishes, including being a minority and/or indigenous people. This guide concentrates on the UN. It does not deal with specialized agencies such as the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), or the regional human rights systems in Europe, Africa and the Americas.1 Likewise, the guide does not aspire to be comprehensive in its coverage of UN institutions, procedures, case law, General Comments, Resolutions, etc. It is not a textbook, but points to available and feasible avenues for minorities and NGOs pursuing cases and lobbying for change, with the emphasis on institutions and monitoring mechanisms. All the mechanisms described in the guide can and are used by indigenous peoples as well as minorities. There are additional mechanisms devoted to the concerns of indigenous peoples. These include the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. These mechanisms are not covered in this guide because it focuses specifically on mechanisms for minorities. Comprehensive information on the UN’s work with indigenous peoples, can be found at: http://www.unhchr.ch/indigenous/ main.html or by contacting the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the address found in Annex 6.1. 4 United Nations The UN is made up of states. Created in 1945, the UN’s main principles are to ensure international peace and security, to promote social and economic development, and to encourage respect for human rights. It has a complex structure (see diagram overleaf for the structure of the UN human rights system) with the General Assembly (GA) being the highest body. The Security Council (SC) is the body dealing with issues relating to international peace and security. Although human rights are one of the fundamental principles of the UN, the bodies dealing with human rights are low in the hierarchy. The UN secretariat is the UN civil service. The secretariat is mainly based in New York and provides support to all the various UN bodies. The Secretary-General is the most senior UN official. The Secretary-General appoints the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the highest human rights official in the organization. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the secretariat to the human rights bodies, is mainly based in Geneva. This geographical distance from New York where the most powerful bodies (GA and SC) meet is often seen as one reason why human rights issues are not given sufficient attention by the UN as a whole. The role of NGOs in the UN NGOs play a hugely important role in the work of the UN. Their role includes: • contributing to policy-making and legislative debates at the international, regional and national levels; • highlighting issues concerning violations and abuses when governments and international organizations tend to be ineffective or even silent; • bringing such issues to the attention of monitoring bodies operating under the auspices of international and regional organizations; • providing the bulk of the information available to the various monitoring bodies and procedures, such as the special procedures of the CHR for its fact-finding and investigative activities, and the treaty-based bodies for the examination of state reports; • submitting cases on behalf of individuals to the communications procedures of the treaty bodies and special procedures; • identifying needs for technical assistance projects and contributing to their implementation; MINORITY RIGHTS: A GUIDE TO UNITED NATIONS PROCEDURES AND INSTITUTIONS