MINELRES: UNHCHR Minority Newsletter: May 2007
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Sat Sep 22 20:22:31 2007
Original sender: Rita Izsak <[email protected]>
Minority Update N�3 - May 2007
OHCHR Indigenous Peoples and Minorities Unit
Email: [email protected]
Table of contents
� OHCHR training for staff
� UNDP and minorities issues
� Consultation with Board members of the VF for Technical Cooperation
� ECOSOC NGO status
� Treaty Bodies and country reviews
First OHCHR training for staff in Asia and first consultation with NHRI
A pilot training workshop on minority and indigenous issues and rights
for OHCHR staff in Asia was held in Nepal and the first consultation on
minority issues with a National Human Rights Institution was held in
Nepal.
Attached to this Newsletter is a sample powerpoint of the type of
information shared during such trainings.
UNDP and minorities issues
UNDP is considering preparing a joint OHCHR-UNDP resource guide for its
staff to better understand minority rights and issues and how to better
promote and protect the rights of persons belonging to minorities in
their work. This guide may be used for future staff trainings.
Consultation with Board members of Voluntary Trust Fund for Technical
cooperation
The Board meets in Geneva to advise on the funding of projects of
technical advice and support provided to Governments upon their request.
The present Board members are: Ms. Mary Chinery-Hesse (Ghana), Mr. Vitit
Muntarbhorn (Thailand), Mr. Viacheslav I. Bakhmin (Russia), Ms. Monica
Pinto (Argentina), and Mr. William Schabas (Canada).
Presentations were made to the Board members about the OHCHR supported
Indigenous and Minority Fellowship Programmes and how it contributes to
the protection and empowerment goals of OHCHR.
For more information on the work of the Voluntary Fund for Technical
Cooperation, please see:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/funds/coop/
ECOSOC NGO status
OHCHR has developed a Handbook for NGOs which aims to provide the
non-governmental organizations with a comprehensive and user-friendly
guide on how to work with the Office of the high Commissioner for Human
Rights.
If you wish to download the Handbook, please visit:
http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/ngohandbook.htm
In some instances, it is indicated that only NGOs with ECOSOC status are
able to cooperate with certain bodies and mechanisms.
For any information regarding the acquisition of ECOSOC consultative
status, you may visit http://www.un.org/esa/coordination/ngo/ which
contains all relevant information and documentation for application.
You may also address your queries to the:
NGO Section of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs at the
United Nations in New York:
DESA NGO Section
One UN Plaza. Room DC1-1480
United Nations
New York, N.Y. 10017, USA
Tel. +1 212 963 8652
Fax: +1 212 963 9248
E-mail: [email protected]
UNOG NGO liaison office in Geneva Switzerland:
Mr. Ricardo Espinoza ( [email protected], tel. +41 22 917 21 27)
Treaty Bodies and country reviews:
The Committee Against Torture held its 38th Session during 30 April - 18
May 2007 in Geneva. It reviewed 7 States parties reports: Italy,
Ukraine, Denmark, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Poland and Japan.
Specific references to minorities are contained in the concluding
observations concerning Italy, Ukraine and Poland.
More information at http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats38.htm
The Committee on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women held its 38th session at United Nations Headquarters in New York
from 14 May to 1 June 2007. It reviewed Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger,
Pakistan, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Syrian Arab Republic and Vanuatu.
References concerning women belonging to minorities or ethnic groups or
the disaggregation of data on the basis of ethnicity are contained in
the concluding observations of: Mauritania, Niger and Serbia.
More information at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/38sess.htm
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights held its 40th
session in Geneva from 30 April to 18 May 2007. It reviewed Latvia,
Hungary, Finland, Nepal.
Specific references to minorities or to requests for information about
the ethnic composition of the population are contained in the concluding
observations concerning Latvia, Hungary, Finland, Nepal and the
Netherlands Antilles.
More information at
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/cescrs38.htm
**************************************************************
Rita Izsak
Consultant, Civil Society Unit
Executive Direction and Management
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
UNOG-OHCHR, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel.: +41 22 917 9106
Fax: +41 22 917 9004
E-mail:
[email protected]
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