A/HRC/34/21
to discuss and adopt appropriate mechanisms for the implementation of the agreed
recommendations before sharing them with the Government.
12.
In March 2016, the OHCHR Regional Office for South-East Asia organized a
workshop in Yala Province, southern Thailand, on how to document torture and illtreatment. Twenty-five civil society representatives from the Malay-Muslim community
attended the workshop. The topics covered included racial discrimination and profiling in
the context of DNA collection. The Regional Office also continued to look closely into the
situation of the Karen community in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi
Province, urging Thai authorities to address outstanding land disputes before registering the
park as a World Heritage Site. In addition, the Regional Office highlighted the need to hold
comprehensive consultations with the affected communities, calling for the implementation
of recommendations made by the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand in
connection with this case.
13.
In April, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines and OHCHR
organized a workshop to reinforce capacity in respect of the normative framework for the
protection of the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples in Mindanao Province in the
Philippines. The first workshop took place in Cotabato on 18 and 19 April and included
government line agencies and regional commissions, civil society organizations and United
Nations staff from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The second workshop
took place in Davao on 21 and 22 April and included government line agencies, national
commissions and civil society organizations. After the workshop, OHCHR was able to
contribute to the revised draft national anti-discrimination legislation.
14.
In June, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 29/21, the High
Commissioner reported on the human rights violations and abuses against Rohingya
Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar (A/HRC/32/18). In the report, the High
Commissioner highlighted in particular recent incidents of trafficking and forced
displacement of Rohingya Muslims. He confirmed the urgent need to address the serious
human rights violations affecting the Rohingya and other minorities. Much is expected of
the new Government, which took office in April 2016, and there have been some early
signs of acknowledgement that change is needed. The new Government has inherited laws
and policies that deny fundamental rights to minorities, and decades of impunity for serious
violations against these communities have encouraged ongoing violence against them.
Considerable efforts to address violations against minorities must be made if the people of
Myanmar are to be provided with a safe and peaceful environment and if Myanmar is to
transition to sustainable development, democracy and peace.
15.
On 14 and 15 June, the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission and OHCHR
organized a workshop on the rights of minorities in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar.
Parliamentarians, representatives of the State, senior officials from various ministries, the
Supreme Court and the Attorney-General’s Office and members and staff of the Myanmar
National Human Rights Commission participated in the workshop, which sought to
facilitate a discussion on international human rights standards and mechanisms that apply to
minorities and identify ways to better protect the country’s minorities.
16.
In 2016, the National Commission for the State Language in Kyrgyzstan, with the
support of the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia and the United Nations
Peacebuilding Fund, developed teaching and training materials for civil servants in the
Kyrgyz language. This project is intended to support fluency in Kyrgyz in the light of the
adoption of new legislation requiring that anyone wishing to obtain and keep a civil service
position be fluent in the language by 2020. The main purpose was to prevent a decrease in
the number of civil servants with a minority background. The Regional Office developed,
introduced and piloted in two universities of southern Kyrgyzstan practical courses on
intercultural education, covering minority rights, respect for diversity, the benefits of inter5