A/65/287
fuels a disturbing culture of domestic violence. Levels of economic exclusion can be
compounded by discrimination in access to other rights, for example civil and
political rights, leaving women very limited access to the criminal justice system for
their domestic violence cases.
61. A frequent source of conflict worldwide is discrimination and inequality in
relation to land and property. For minority communities, often located in remote
rural areas, the land and territories on which they live are a source of food security
and income generation as well as being vital to the preservation of minority
cultures, traditions and collective identity. However, some minorities find that their
rights to own, occupy and use land are limited or violated and they may find
themselves displaced or evicted, in some cases to make way for national economic
development schemes, the activities of multinational corporations or for natural
resources development. Land and property issues should consequently be given
close attention in respect of conflict prevention.
62. Further issues of importance regarding patterns of discrimination are presented
by international development cooperation. In some countries, programmes to
promote development implemented by Governments and external donors fail to take
into account the inequalities between communities, the unique circumstances of
minorities or the possible need for special measures to ensure that minority
communities also benefit from such initiatives. Further, minorities may be adversely
affected, for example through displacement by large-scale projects such as dams and
natural resource extraction, or as a result of the negative environmental impact of
such projects. As noted in the report of the independent expert on minorities,
poverty and the Millennium Development Goals, conflict prevention is one reason
why monitoring poverty alleviation among persons belonging to minorities is
crucial: if strategies are successful for some groups but not for minorities,
inequalities will increase and so too may tension. Inclusive participation strategies
for poverty reduction are proven and effective conflict prevention measures (see
A/HRC/4/9, para. 43).
III. A minority rights perspective at the international level: a tool
for conflict prevention
63. According to a statistical assessment carried out by Minority Rights Group
International, over 55 per cent of violent conflicts of a significant intensity between
2007 and 2009 had at their core violations of minority rights or tensions between
communities. In a further 22 per cent of conflicts, minority issues had emerged or
receded in the course of the evolution of the conflict. Those figures indicate that
Governments, donors and intergovernmental organizations need to allocate
significant attention and resources to minority issues as sources of conflict.
However, the current picture in this regard is mixed.
A.
United Nations institutional framework
64. The tragic events in Rwanda and in the former Yugoslavia gave new impetus
to efforts by the United Nations to protect minorities — described by the Secretary-
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