World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

Preventing genocide and conflict

'Most conflicts happen in poor countries, especially those which are badly governed or where power and wealth are very unfairly distributed between ethnic or religious groups. So the best way to prevent conflict is to promote political arrangements in which all groups are fairly represented, combined with human rights, minority rights, and broad-based economic development.' - United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, 3 April 2000.

Some 70 per cent of the world's conflicts have ethnicity or religion as a major factor. A very high proportion of these arise at least in part because governments, or other parts of the state, discriminate against minorities or indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, governments and international bodies such as the UN have been extremely slow to address violations of minority or indigenous rights in a systematic way.

Some main causes of ethnic/religious conflicts:

• Overt government persecution of minorities or indigenous peoples, including ethnic cleansing and killings;
• denial of the right to use language, culture, religion, for example, in education;
• refusal to recognize groups as having a separate, unique identity;
• government imposition of rigid identities on people (for example, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, people have to choose whether they are Bosnian, Croat, Serb or 'other');
• violations of the rights of women who belong to minorities or indigenous peoples;
• failure to ensure minorities or indigenous peoples can have a say in government (at the local or national level);
• discrimination in access to education, jobs, land, social services and property;
• failure to protect minorities and indigenous peoples from other sectors of society's prejudices; and,
• government encouragement of those prejudices, either openly or implicitly.

What can be done to prevent ethnic/religious conflict?

Governments need to stop committing the violations listed above. International bodies, donors and foreign governments need to urge the government to respect minority and indigenous peoples' rights.

So why do governments resist doing this? They seem to think that if they make concessions, the communities will only make more demands, such as splitting away and setting up their own states. We believe the opposite to be the case. If minorities and indigenous peoples are able to live without fear of persecution, practise their cultures, and have some say in government, they will feel a sense of belonging in a state, just as much as majorities do.

International bodies such as the UN and regional organizations, need to approach ethnic/religious conflict in a systematic way. One example is the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organisation for Cooperation and Security in Europe (OSCE).

Finally, international bodies and donor governments need to offer technical assistance to states where there are tensions with minorities and indigenous peoples. This can only be done where the government can demonstrate its goodwill to find a positive solution to the issue.

Genocide

Genocide is a very specific type of ethnic/religious conflict. It is the intentional killing of part or all of an ethnic, religious or linguistic group. Governments which carry out genocide are usually driven by a racist ideology. There are a number of possible reasons for them doing this: they may want to grab a community's land or natural resources, create a distraction from the country's ills, or get rid of a long-standing rival in the struggle for state control.

The action that the UN and foreign governments can take is more limited because the government is not usually open to quiet persuasion. In extreme cases, the UN Security Council may resort to military action, in respect of the UN charter, to prevent mass killings. However, strong diplomatic pressure can still play a role. The government can be made to understand, in a quiet but firm way, that its actions will lead to economic and political isolation, and that this is not in its interest.

Finally, international bodies need to develop early warning systems, which detect the first signs of ethnic/religious conflict. These should pick up patterns of violations of the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples. Action can then be taken. For example the UN Secretary-General can use diplomacy to persuade the government to stop the violations. A positive development here is the new UN post of Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide. The Special Adviser's job is to identify potential genocides and to bring them to the Secretary-General's attention, so that appropriate action can be taken.

The campaign goals are:

To reduce the risk of violent inter-community conflict and genocide through:

• identifying cases where abuses of minority and indigenous peoples' rights could lead to violent conflict;
• identifying practical steps that improve minority and indigenous peoples' rights, and reduce the risk of conflict;
• pushing for these steps' timely implementation; and,
• achieving new or stronger minority/indigenous conflict prevention mechanisms.

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