MINELRES: MRG e-Bulletin: January 2010
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Sun Feb 7 16:47:41 2010
Original sender: Minority Rights Group <[email protected]>
Minority Rights Group International
January 2010
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
http://www.minorityrights.org
News
Bosnian Jew and Roma win challenge in European Court of Human Rights
against bar on running for public office
The European Court of Human Rights today ruled that Bosnia's
constitution violates the rights of a Bosnian Jew and a Bosnian Roma in
barring them from standing for high office.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9519/press-releases/bosnian-jew-and-roma-win-
challenge-in-european-court-of-human-rights-against-bar-on-running-for-public-
office.html
Discrimination still a barrier to effective political participation for
minorities and indigenous peoples, says MRG on Human Rights Day
As the world marks Human Rights Day, which in 2009 focuses on
non-discrimination, minorities and indigenous peoples continue to face a
multitude of barriers to effective participation, including in political
processes, says Minority Rights Group International (MRG).
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9504/minorities-in-the-news/discrimination-still-
a-barrier-to-effective-political-participation-for-minorities-and-indigenous-
peoples-says-mrg-on-human-rights-day.html
Open doors to indigenous and minority communities at Copenhagen climate
change conference - MRG
Communities worst affected by climate change can no longer remain on the
fringes while states take critical decisions at the UN climate change
conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Minority Rights Group International
says.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9492/press-releases/open-doors-to-indigenous-and-
minority-communities-at-copenhagen-climate-change-conference-mrg.html
Photo Story: How climate change is affecting communities in Nepal
Jared Ferrie, MRG's Regional Information Officer for Asia, illustates
how climate change is effecting communities in Nepal.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9488/minorities-in-the-news/photo-story-how-
climate-change-is-affecting-communities-in-nepal.html
MRG 'deeply concerned' by Swiss ban on minarets
A Swiss referendum which bans Muslims from building new minarets could
lead to marginalisation and discrimination of Muslim minorities in the
country, and may place Switzerland in violation of its international
legal obligations, says Minority Rights Group International (MRG).
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9478/minorities-in-the-news/mrg-deeply-concerned-
by-swiss-ban-on-minarets.html
MRG Blog
The Right to be Cold
Carl Soderbergh, MRG's Director of Policy and Communications reports
back from a mock tribunal on climate change in his native Stockholm.
Read more:
http://minorityrights.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/the-right-to-be-cold/
Meet Minority Rights Activists
Politics, diversity and exclusion � sound bites from the UN Forum on
Minority Issues
The second UN Forum on Minority Issues took place in Geneva in November
2009. This year's Forum brought hundreds of minority representatives
from the four corners of the globe together, with a special focus on
political participation. MRG�s Media Officer, Emma Eastwood, was there
to record this impressive gathering, and here provides excerpts from
delegates' speeches.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9483/meet-minority-rights-activists/politics-
diversity-and-exclusion-sound-bites-from-the-un-forum-on-minority-issues.html
MRG in the News
A selection of MRG's news coverage over the past month
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Court says Bosnian constitution discriminatory
(CNN) Bosnia's constitution violates European human rights law by
banning Jews, Roma and other ethnic minorities from running for
president or the upper chamber of Parliament, the European Court of
Human Rights ruled.
Read more:
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/23/bosnia.discrimination.minority.ru
ling/index.html
PAKISTAN - Christmas threats stoke fear among Pakistani Christians
Christmas in Gojra, where a tent camp houses Christians who lost their
homes to a rampaging Muslim mob, will be celebrated not with decorations
and cheer but with fear of another attack.
Read more:
http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/world/2009/12/24/12265011.html
KENYA - Kenya forcing removal of Ogiek people under forest conservation
plan
The Ogiek people, East Africa�s honey-hunting forest dwellers, are about
to lose their home, according to Minority Rights International (MRG).
Read more:
http://www.examiner.com/x-33530-Providence-Environmental-News-
Examiner~y2010m1d6-Kenya-forcing-removal-of-Ogiek-people-under-forest-
conservation-plan
IRAQ - Jordanian pastor to global Church: Help Iraqi Christian refugees
in their heartbreaking plight
A Catholic pastor is rallying Church leaders in the Holy Land and around
the world to come to the aid of Iraqi Christian refugees facing extended
exile and faint hopes of finding a secure future in their own country or
any other.
Read more: http://www.catholic-sf.org/news_select.php?newsid=&id=56663
PALANAN, PHILIPPINES - A Deplorable State for World's Minorities
A lizard catcher, Tayak, 21, belongs to the Agta tribe, a vanishing
group of indigenous peoples in the Philippines numbering less than a
thousand. They have lived here in the Sierra Madre rainforest for
hundreds of years.
Read more:
http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?
c=Article_C&cid=1260257842203&pagename=Zone-English-Youth%2FYTELayout
SRI LANKA - Farah Mihlar: A welcome step, but crisis of displaced people
is far from over
After six months of being held in detention camps, 130,000 Tamil
internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been granted a basic human
right � freedom of movement.
Read more:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/farah-mihlar-a-welcome-step-
but-crisis-of-displaced-people-is-far-from-over-1832234.html
Publications
New
MRG briefing: Breaking the cycle of Exclusion: Minority rights in
Georgia today
MRG's new briefing says that ethnic tension could rise in Georgia unless
the government, in line with international standards, puts in place
robust domestic laws to protect minority rights. The briefing also warns
that the situation in Georgia could significantly deteriorate, due to
rising waves of unrest and tension with neighbouring Russia, over the
breakaway territories of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Download a copy of this briefing:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9547/briefing-papers/breaking-the-cycle-of-
exclusion-minority-rights-in-georgia-today.html
Coming Up
Watch this space for upcoming MRG publications on minorities in Somalia
and how the recent European Court ruling will affect BiH�s constitution.
http://www.minorityrights.org/9519/press-releases/bosnian-jew-and-roma-win-
challenge-in-european-court-of-human-rights-against-bar-on-running-for-public-
office.html
World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
The World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
<http://www.minorityrights.org/directory > covers 220 of the world's
countries and dependent territories, and features profiles of about 700
minorities/indigenous peoples and is an excellent one-stop shop for
journalists, academics, researchers, policy makers and students. Recent
updates include: Georgia -
http://www.minorityrights.org/1909/georgia/georgia-overview.html
Jobs and Internships
Call for Campaigning Filmmakers
Minority Rights Group International invites independent documentary
filmmakers with experience in the NGO sector to tender for a mid-length
documentary film on: Indigenous people affected by climate change in
Nepal.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9540/jobs-internships-amp-volunteering/call-for-
campaigning-filmmakers.html
Street Theatre Project Officer: based either London or Kampala
Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has secured funding for an
innovative new programme working with partners in Botswana, Dominican
Republic, Kenya and Rwanda using participatory street theatre to
challenge racism. Candidates should have at least one year of experience
of running participatory theatre and/or improvised drama performances.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9536/jobs-internships-amp-volunteering/street-
theatre-project-officer-based-either-london-or-kampala.html
Programmes Assistant (Africa and Legal Cases)
MRG is seeking a Programmes Assistant (Africa and Legal Cases) to work
on our Africa and Legal Cases Programmes helping MRG realise the rights
of minorities and indigenous peoples around the world.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9526/jobs-internships-amp-volunteering/programmes-
assistant-africa-and-legal-cases.html
Challenging Racism through Street Theatre Project � Call for external
consultant
Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has secured funding for an
innovative new programme working with partners in Botswana, Dominican
Republic, Kenya and Rwanda using participatory street theatre to
challenge racism. We are looking to recruit an external consultant (this
could be either an individual or an organisation) who will be contracted
to provide advice and assistance throughout the project.
Read more:
http://www.minorityrights.org/9524/jobs-internships-amp-
volunteering/challenging-racism-through-street-theatre-project-call-for-
external-consultant.html
MRG frequently recruits new staff and interns who support our work.
Please see our website for more information:
http://www.minorityrights.org/7646/employment-opportunities-amp-
internships/employment-opportunities-internships.html
**
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: [email protected]
Website: http://www..minorityrights.org
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