Ethnic and racial minorities
Generally, under human rights instruments, rights are granted to ‘everyone’ without discrimination of any kind. Thus, minorities (national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities) should enjoy all rights including the right to social security on the same footing as the majority of the population.
The protection of the rights of minorities is provided for under article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Moreover, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities sets essential standards and offers guidance to States in adopting appropriate legislative and other measures to secure the rights of persons belonging to minorities.
States should also take appropriate measures to ensure that minorities have effective access to social protection benefits on a non-discriminatory basis, as set out in Recommendation No. 202.
Photo credit: “Ladakh Festival 2013” by Dietmar Temps (CCBY 2.0 via Flickr).
Land Rights for People of Indigenous and African Descent in Colombia
Nature of the Case Among other issues, the Constitutional Court revoked licenses for all 347 private mining companies that had previously been granted approval for mining in the páramo (moorland), an ecologically endangered region of the Colombian Andes. Summary Members of the leftist opposition party, the Democratic Pole and La Cumbre Agraria, (a social movement […]
Equal access to health and family planning information for all women in Hungary
The communication was filed with regards to the alleged forced sterilization of an ethnic Roma woman by medical staff pursuant to an emergency caesarian section that was required to remove a deceased fetus. The Committee found that previous medical care, the poor medical condition of the victim, A.S., upon arrival at the hospital, short time […]
Promoting Decent Work Opportunities for Roma Youth in Central and Eastern Europe
With this Resource Guide, the ILO would like to enhance knowledge and understanding of all stakeholders of the situation of Roma in the labour market in terms of discrimination, marginalization, and lack of access to resources and services. The Resource Guide brings together relevant international instruments and experiences which can guide and assist European tripartite […]
Barriers to health care for the poor and ethnic minorities in Northwest Vietnam
The report presents the results of two studies undertaken by Bettina Schwind in Vietnam around barriers to health care services for poor and ethnic minority people inhabiting mountainous Northwest Viet-nam. It shows how issues such as distance to the next health facility or the quality of information campaigns can impact the quality of health services […]
