MINELRES: MRG eBulletin / August 2008

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Original sender: MRG International <noreply@mrgmail.org>


Welcome to the Minority Rights Group International (MRG) email bulletin.
Simply click on the links below in order to access the full news story
or publication on MRG's website, or alternatively visit our site at
http://www.minorityrights.org


News features

Whilst UK government appeals to Lords, Chagos islanders have right to
return, says UN Committee
21 July 2008

A leading United Nations human rights committee has said that the Chagos
Islanders have the right to return home to their Indian Ocean Island
archipelago.

http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6880


Roma communities feel threatened more than ever before in Italy
28 July 2008

In the past months Italy has been in the news over increasing attacks
and rising racial prejudice against its Roma and Sinti communities.

http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6913


For all Bashir's bravado, he is marked as damaged goods
July 16 2008 

The Sudanese president will soon find his security council allies can't
shield him from the impact of being cast as global pariah

http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=602


Displaced Iraqis shouldn't be made to return 
28 Jul 2008

The Jordanian government has repeatedly stated that it does not consider
Iraq safe and Iraqi refugees in Jordan will not be forcibly returned.
But as their money runs out, and their children struggle to access
schooling, some may feel the new restrictions leave the refugees with no
choice.

http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=613


'No blacks, no dogs, no Gypsies'
6 July 2008 

Gypsies and Travellers in the UK are uniting to form a nationwide
coalition to fight what they describe as rapidly escalating levels of
racism and discrimination. 

http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6804


Coming up

Launch of two new MRG campaigns in August

Trouble in Paradise
On the eve of World Indigenous Peoples day MRG re-launches its Trouble
in Paradise campaign. With a brand new look the campaign presses for a
better deal for the Endorois in Kenya, who are adversely affected by
tourism development. Add your voice and sign our petition. Launch date -
August 8th

Climate change minorities and indigenous people

Climate change is not just affecting the environment but it is
threatening hundreds of indigenous and minority communities across the
world. Because these communities have a close and unique relationship
with nature and are often reliant on the environment they are amongst
the worst affected by climate change. Give us a show of hands in support
of communities combating climate change.

Check MRG website for more details


Publications in August

The bloody violence which engulfed Kenya at the end of 2007/2008,
shocked the nation and the international community. There was widespread
agreement that, if Kenya is to avert sliding into the abyss of further
ethnic warfare, critical reforms had to be undertaken. But with Kenya's
politicians already jostling for position in advance of the next
elections a new briefing paper by MRG examines what chances these
reforms have of succeeding? And what chance have Kenya's marginalized
minorities and indigenous peoples of getting their fundamental human
rights and freedoms recognised and protected, in this current febrile
political climate?"


What�s new? MRG�s blogs, reports, briefings and online resources 

Way past their bedtime
July 16, 2008 

Preti Taneja, MRG's Commissioning Editor and co-author of an upcoming
MRG report on Iraqi minority refugees, reports back from a research trip
to Jordan

http://minorityrights.wordpress.com


MRG on Flickr

MRG now has its own Flickr page. To view the most recent photos visit
http://www.flickr.com/photos/minorityrights/


So what do you do?

All over the world, ordinary women, men, and children are fighting for
the rights of their communities to be recognized. MRG spoke to Edgar
Rua, an Afro-descendant performance artist and activist from the
Colombian organization Fundacion Cultural 'Juan Guillermo Rua' and Ra'ed
Al Mickawi, director of BUSTAN and a member of the Bedouin community
from Negev, Israel.

http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6614
http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6612


New MRG report: Pushing for change? South East Europe�s Minorities in
the EU Progress Reports

The European Union�s (EU) highly publicized, influential and
path-setting Progress Reports, issued annually on South East European
(SEE) states trying to gain entry into the EU, do not give sufficient
consideration to one of the key accession criteria - minority
protection. A new report by MRG discovers divergence between the EU
messages and the realities that minority communities face in their
day-to-day lives in SEE countries. This is partly because the EU lacks
an institutionalized mechanism for involving local minority communities
in the accession process, the report says.

http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6726


MRG's World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 

MRG recently launched the first online database of the world's
minorities and indigenous peoples. The World Directory of Minorities and
Indigenous Peoples covers 220 of the world's countries and dependent
territories, and features profiles of about 700 minorities/indigenous
peoples. It is a unique resource for policy-makers, governments,
journalists, academics and all those with an interest in the growing
field of minority rights.

http://www.minorityrights.org/directory

**

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is a non-governmental
organization working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide, and to promote
cooperation and understanding between communities.

MRG is a registered charity no. 282305, and has consultative status with
the United Nations Economic and Social Council and observer status with
the African Commission for Human and Peoples' Rights.

Minority Rights Group International
54 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LT, UK
Tel: 020 7422 4200
Fax: 020 7422 4201
Email: minority.rights@mrgmail.org
Website: http://www.minorityrights.org


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