37/73 Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues on recommendations made by the Forum on Minority Issues at its tenth session on the theme “Minority youth: towards inclusive and diverse societies”
Document Type: Final Report
Date: 2018 Jan
Session: 37th Regular Session (2018 Feb)
Agenda Item: Item5: Human rights bodies and mechanisms
GE.18-01369(E)
Human Rights Council Thirty-seventh session
26 February–23 March 2018 Agenda item 5
Human rights bodies and mechanisms
Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues on recommendations made by the Forum on Minority Issues at its tenth session on the theme “Minority youth: towards inclusive and diverse societies”
Note by the Secretariat
The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of
the Special Rapporteur on minority issues on recommendations made by the Forum on
Minority Issues at its tenth session, held on 30 November and 1 December 2017, on the
theme “Minority youth: towards inclusive and diverse societies”, prepared pursuant to
Council resolutions 6/15 and 19/23.
Report of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues on recommendations made by the Forum on Minority Issues at its tenth session on the theme “Minority youth: towards inclusive and diverse societies”
Contents
Page
I. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 3
II. General considerations .................................................................................................................. 4
A. Panel discussions .................................................................................................................. 5
B. General recommendations .................................................................................................... 5
III. Recommendations to empower minority youth through inclusive education ............................... 6
A. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 6
B. Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 7
IV. Recommendations to promote the participation of minority youth in public life.......................... 8
A. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 8
B. Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 9
V. Recommendations regarding the challenges and opportunities for minority
youth in media in the digital age ................................................................................................... 10
A. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 10
B. Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 11
VI. Recommendations on the role of minority youth in promoting peace and stability ...................... 12
A. Discussion ............................................................................................................................. 12
B. Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 13
I. Introduction
1. In its resolutions 6/15 and 19/23, the Human Rights Council decided that the
Independent Expert on minority issues should guide the work of the Forum on Minority
Issues and prepare its annual meetings, and invited him/her to include in his/her report
thematic recommendations of the Forum and recommendations for future thematic subjects,
for consideration by the Council. In its resolution 25/5, the Council decided to extend the
mandate of the mandate holder as a Special Rapporteur on minority issues, and renewed the
mandate in its resolution 34/6. The present report, which was prepared pursuant to
resolutions 6/15 and 19/23, contains the recommendations of the tenth session of the Forum
on Minority Issues, held on 30 November and 1 December 2017. At the session, the Forum
considered the theme “Minority youth: towards inclusive and diverse societies”. The work
of the Forum was guided by the newly appointed Special Rapporteur on minority issues,
Fernand de Varennes. The Chair of the session was Tarik Kurdi, of the Sudan. More than
500 participants attended the session, including representatives of Member States and
minority communities, non-governmental organizations, United Nations specialized
agencies, regional and intergovernmental bodies and national human rights institutions.
Young minority advocates, representatives of youth organizations and young members of
governmental delegations from all regions attended the Forum, some of them for the first
time. The list of participants is available at www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Minority/
Pages/Session10.aspx.
2. The present recommendations draw primarily from the discussions among and
contributions made by participants to the Forum at its tenth session under each item of the
agenda (A/HRC/FMI/2017/1). The recommendations are grounded in international law and
standards. They aim to provide guidance for the effective implementation of the
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and
Linguistic Minorities. In view of the cross-cutting nature of the theme of the tenth session,
reference is also made to recommendations formulated at previous sessions that are of
specific relevance to the empowerment of young people belonging to minorities.
3. Key elements of the legal and normative framework include the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social
and Cultural Rights; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization Convention against Discrimination in Education; the European Charter for
Regional or Minority Languages; the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities; and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) Oslo Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National
Minorities.
4. Specifically on the topic of minority rights with regard to education, the following
instruments are of relevance: the OSCE Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education
Rights of National Minorities; the Incheon Declaration: Education 2030: Towards inclusive
and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all, adopted by the 2015 World
Education Forum; and Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for
Implementation developed by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues.
5. Regarding the right to political participation, the following instruments are relevant:
the Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public
Life and the Ljubljana Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies of OSCE, and as well
as the Revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and
Regional Life adopted by the Council of Europe.
6. With regard to the human rights of members of minorities in relation to the media,
key instruments and guidelines include: the OSCE Guidelines on the Use of Minority
Languages in the Broadcast Media; Bookmarks: A Manual for Combating Hate Speech
Online Through Human Rights Education, published by the Council of Europe; Security
Council resolution 2250 (2015) on youth, peace and stability; Young People’s Participation
in Peacebuilding: A Practice Note, published by the Inter-Agency Network on Youth
Development Working Group on Youth and Peacebuilding (2016); and the Guiding
Principles on Young People’s Participation in Peacebuilding (2016), published by the
United Nations Development Programme.
7. The recommendations of the tenth session of the Forum are organized under the four
items of the agenda of the session.
8. In its recommendations the Forum highlights the primary responsibility of the State
to protect — via national education institutions and bodies, local governments and other
public offices, public broadcasting agencies and conflict prevention mechanisms — the
rights of minority youth. States should comply with this obligation in view of the fact that
minority youth may be subjected to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination due to
their age and to their ethnic, national, linguistic or religious background; discrimination
based on gender, sexual orientation or physical abilities may further accentuate their
situation of marginalization. The Forum also calls on United Nations entities to pay greater
attention to young persons belonging to minorities, who may need additional support or
protection to enable them to engage fully in society. The recommendations also address
minority youth directly, encouraging those who wish to bring positive change to their
societies to step up efforts with a view to increasing the impact of their advocacy work and
to stay connected to their community while also building bridges with other communities.
The Forum also urges minority communities, as well as the broader society, to give support
and recognition to the work of minority youth in seeking to uphold human rights and to
bring about positive change.
9. The recommendations address a wide range of situations faced by young people
from minority groups around the world. They demonstrate the differing levels of enjoyment
of the rights of minorities in different countries, as well as the commonalities and
differences that may exist in the aspirations of young minority men and women.
10. The recommendations are intended to be implemented in countries around the world
in full respect of universal human rights standards, regardless of the political, religious,
historical and cultural backgrounds or any specific State ideology, religion or value system.
II. General considerations
11. The United Nations and its Member States have recognized that younger generations
play an important role in their respective societies and contribute to advancing various
aspects in the social, economic, and environmental spheres. Such a contribution can only be
achieved by ensuring that youth are at the forefront of the decision-making process. This
applies equally to young men and women who are members of minority groups.
12. Defending the rights of the youth and supporting their aspirations must be an
international and national priority. Global social and economic development are heavily
dependent on the active participation of younger generations in this process. In working
towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, no one must be left behind;
minority youth must not be left out of these processes and considerations.
13. National youth policies, national youth coordination mechanisms and national youth
programmes of action are critically important, and fighting discrimination among young
people and including the rights of minorities must be strong components.
14. The tenth session of the Forum was an opportunity to hear the voices of young
minority men and women who feel excluded from many of these processes. It brought
together young people from a number of different countries, most of whom have limited
possibilities to address international bodies such as the United Nations. Their situations
were diverse, but their aspirations converged towards a plea for acceptance and tolerance,
as well as recognition of their rights as members of minorities.
15. The Forum also gave a voice to minority young people seeking protection for their
lives and the lives of their family members and communities in situations of conflict or
persecution. Some took the floor to denounce situations in which they said Governments or
other actors were preventing them from claiming their linguistic, cultural or religious
identities. Others testified to economic and social marginalization suffered as young and
minority persons, preventing them from feeling that they were an equal and valued
component of society. Some participants explained how, even where minority rights
appeared to be generally protected by law, policies and dedicated programmes, young
people from those communities nevertheless continued to suffer from endemic
discrimination and xenophobia and struggled to make their voices heard. Some of them
were marginalized in various aspects of public life, including education, political
participation and media representation. As a result, in some cases society failed to adapt to
their specific needs and to provide the support to enable them to come forward and assume
their place in public life.
16. Participants at the Forum raised issues relating to minority youth access to
employment, and their participation in the economic life in general. The discussions were
inspired by the work of the Forum in this particular area at its third session in 2010,
including its relevant recommendations (A/HRC/16/46).
A. Panel discussions
17. The discussions in the first panel focused on inclusive education for minority youth.
Participants discussed the issue of access to education and accommodation of minority
culture and language in various programmes and facilities. They highlighted that the right
to education was fundamental to a number of other rights, including political, economic and
cultural rights. Furthermore, they discussed the importance of education in minority
languages and how it fostered the integration of minority youth in society. In that context,
participants also discussed the role of informal education in sensitizing youth to tolerance
and to religious, cultural and linguistic diversity.
18. The second panel focused on the participation of minority youth in public life,
including in the political, civil, economic, social and cultural spheres. Participants raised
the issue of political engagement of minority youth and the importance of minority youth
representation in public institutions at the national and local levels, and reflected on how to
increase the positive visibility of young members of minorities in societies. They also
discussed the importance of involving minority youth in decision-making processes,
particularly those that concern them directly.
19. The third panel addressed the opportunities that media offered to minority youth in
the digital age. Participants called for greater efforts to ensure access to digital media for all,
including marginalized minority communities. They shared experiences of initiatives
undertaken to respond to hate speech and bullying on the Internet, and discussed the role of
minority-led media initiatives to empower youth and to enable them to challenge biased and
stereotypical narratives.
20. The fourth panel considered the role of minority youth as agents of change for peace
and stability. Participants presented recommendations regarding the need for greater
consultation with and participation by minority youth in conflict-prevention and
peacebuilding processes. They highlighted the importance of promoting intercultural
dialogue between majority and minority youth as a tool to prevent conflict and promote
reconciliation in post-conflict societies. They also acknowledged the key role of minority
youth in the maintenance of peace and societal cohesion.
B. General recommendations
21. States should ratify and adhere to all international and regional human rights
instruments that protect and promote the rights of minorities.
22. States should ensure full implementation of international human rights
instruments in national law and practice, including in particular the Declaration on
the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, and Linguistic minorities, and
should ensure respect for constitutional and other guarantees aimed at the protection
and promotion of the rights of minorities.
23. All States, international organizations and civil society and other entities
working with youth should exert maximum efforts to collect disaggregated data to
inform policymaking and ensure that minority youth are not excluded, directly or
indirectly, from any effort to secure the realization of human rights for all.
24. States should adapt their legal frameworks and implement representative
policies to prioritize the needs of minority youth and facilitate their participation in
decision-making in all areas that concern them, in order to facilitate their effective
inclusion (without assimilation) in society.
25. United Nations entities should explicitly refer to minority youth when
developing resolutions, policies, guidelines and other tools addressing the situation of
young people.
26. States and international organizations should create an enabling environment
for young human rights activists belonging to minorities so that they can monitor the
implementation of States’ obligations towards young people under international
human rights law, and to facilitate dialogue between young people belonging to
minorities and their own Governments, national human rights institutions, regional
organizations and the United Nations.
III. Recommendations to empower minority youth through inclusive education
A. Discussion
27. The discussion was introduced by Nouha Grine, President of the Amazigh Culture
Club and Youth Programme Officer at the Ministry of Youth and Sport (Tunisia): Elżbieta
Kuzborska, of the Association of Polish Academics in Lithuania (Poland): and Wooki Park-
Kim, of the Human Rights Association for Korean Residents in Japan (Japan). In their
presentations they addressed issues of discrimination and diversity within formal education
systems as well as within wider youth-led awareness-raising initiatives. They focused on
the benefits of teaching minority youth in their mother tongue, which would increase the
chances for academic success and in turn foster their effective participation in society. They
spoke of the role of schools in preserving the identities of minorities by increasing the
knowledge of the younger generations with regard to the language, culture and history of
their communities. Other issues discussed included discrimination, financial hurdles
confronting minority youth in accessing mainstream education and lack of recognition of
diplomas awarded by schools whose students are primarily from minority groups.
28. The subsequent plenary discussion was moderated by the Special Adviser to the
Envoy of the Secretary-General on Youth, Saskia Schellekens. Participants discussed the
role of formal and informal education of young people in bringing cultures together and
teaching tolerance and the value of diversity. It was important to adapt curricula, courses
and institutions to enable minority youth to realize their full potential.
29. The right to be taught in one’s mother tongue at school and at university was a
recurring topic raised by a number of participants and characterized as fundamental for
minorities to preserve their identity. Participants also highlighted that the exercise of that
right should not be perceived as a sign of deliberate isolation by minorities within society,
and that their access to education in their mother tongue should not prevent them from
learning other languages, including the official State language. At the same time, other
participants warned that minority children and youth often had access only to poor-quality
education, due to lack of adequate support in terms of infrastructure and teaching staff.
30. A number of participants suggested that, in some cases, the minority language could
be the language of instruction in preschool and primary school, while the majority language
could be taught as a separate subject. In the secondary- and tertiary-level curricula, minority
languages should be used in a manner that adequately reflects the number of speakers of a
particular language. Participants argued that such an approach had proven cost-effective in
the long term by reducing dropout and repetition rates, improving academic results and the
levels of literacy in both the minorities’ mother tongue and the official or majority language.
That would eventually lead to greater family and community engagement in education.
31. The preservation of linguistic and cultural heritage and the promotion of diversity
and tolerance of various communities was also a recurring concern that a number of
participants suggested could be addressed by designing multicultural school curricula. They
also expressed concerns about the tendency of certain Governments to use school curricula
to assimilate young people into the majority culture. A number of participants raised
concerns about the negative impact of highly centralized educational systems in certain
countries, which negatively affected the access of marginalized communities to education
and resulted in a low level of minority enrolment.
32. Finally, the participants explored the importance of ensuring human rights education
from a young age for both majority and minority youth, in order to further awareness and
understanding of minority rights.
B. Recommendations
Access to quality education
33. States should take legislative and policy measures to guarantee that minority
youth have equal access to education of equal quality, delivered in an inclusive
environment that fosters greater achievement for all. This includes the use of minority
languages at all levels, as much, and for as long, as possible. Schools and universities
should ensure that minority students who enter their institution receive adequate
support to achieve academic success equal to that of non-minority students.
Educational institutions must be sensitive to minority, gender and other issues,
including through the collection of data disaggregated by ethnicity or national origin,
religion and language, as well as gender, sexual orientation and physical abilities.
Measures such as scholarships, fee waivers or quotas should be considered as special
measures that can contribute to increasing educational opportunities for persons
belonging to minorities.
Delivering education in an inclusive environment
34. States need to play a proactive role to foster inclusive learning environments in
their education systems. Teachers and professors should receive training on using
inclusive teaching strategies that address the needs of students with a variety of ethnic,
religious and linguistic backgrounds, learning styles and abilities. Inclusive learning
environments are essential to contribute to minority students’ feeling equally valued.
Additionally, adequate teaching and learning materials, including textbooks, which
provide information about minorities and facilitate the learning of minority languages
should be accessible to students.
35. States should recognize in their constitutions the diversity of their populations
and the right of members of minorities to be taught in their mother tongue. States
should develop programmes that offer teaching in minority languages, while ensuring
that minorities also have access to instruction in other languages, including the official
languages. The quality of instruction should not differ between programmes taught in
different languages. States should take measures to ensure that members of minorities
are able in practice to use their own language at school.
36. States should ensure that persons belonging to minorities are able to access the
justice system to pursue collective claims for linguistically and culturally appropriate
education, and that the justice system can ensure effective remedies when minority
education rights are not respected. Minorities should be able to access support,
including from civil society organizations, to ensure effective access to such legal
procedures.
37. States should ensure that multicultural education is part of the school
curriculum. Minority communities, including youth, should be consulted and
participate in the design of such curricula, in order to include accurate portrayals of
different communities’ history, traditions, language and culture, as well as the various
beliefs or religious practices of those minorities living in the country. Additionally,
education should be delivered by a corps of teachers and professors that is itself
representative of the diversity of society at the local and national levels.
38. States should combat racial discrimination and xenophobia in and through
school education. They should refrain from adopting policies or education strategies
aimed at segregating students into different educational institutions or classes based
on their minority status; minority and majority youth should ideally be taught
together in one class to ensure diversity of views and experiences.
Support for minority-led educational initiatives
39. States should allow, recognize and, where possible, facilitate the establishment
and operation of private schools and educational services using minority languages as
a medium of instruction, provided that they operate in conformity with national
educational standards. This may in certain cases be the most appropriate way to
better promote knowledge of minority students’ own language and culture. States
should refrain from imposing unduly burdensome legal and administrative
requirements regulating the establishment and management of such institutions.
40. Minority youth should be able to choose whether to attend a regular school or a
licensed minority school. The choice should not be imposed on them either by the
State or by the minority community.
41. In time of conflict, States and international organizations should ensure that
minority youth who are displaced or living in conflict zones are able to receive
education, including in their own language.
Informal education
42. Human rights, including minority rights and fundamental rights such as the
principle of non-discrimination, should be taught to young people through formal and
informal education programmes.
43. States should undertake efforts to educate majority and minority youth on
human rights, minority rights and civic engagement through digital media, including
by offering free online courses accessible to all.
44. States should ensure that the education system provides information in
accessible language to youth, and in particular minority youth, about the importance
of active citizenship and how youth can participate in public life. States should also
support non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders that provide youth
with non-formal education in active citizenship.
45. Special education and community development measures should be adopted to
encourage strong and positive self-identification and self-esteem of young members of
minorities.
IV. Recommendations to promote the participation of minority youth in public life
A. Discussion
46. The session on participation of minority youth in public life was introduced by
Anina Ciuciu, a national of France and Romania of Roma background, law student and co-
founder of the “May 16 Movement” (France); Jessica Reeves, Chief Operating Officer at
Voto Latino (United States of America); and Mina Thabet, co-founder of the Egyptian
Commission for Rights and Freedoms and of the Maspero Youth Union (Egypt). They
stressed the importance of addressing the issue of underrepresentation of minority youth in
national and international decision-making bodies and in legislative and policy
development processes. They drew attention to the link between the level of engagement
and representation of minority youth in decision-making and the level of discrimination
they faced in society. They particularly highlighted the responsibility of the State to
promote diversity and provide equal opportunities to all minorities. They acknowledged
that young persons belonging to minorities could experience disproportionate difficulties or
obstacles when engaging in political processes. Minority youth might disengage from
public life because political representatives did not take their concerns into account. The
speakers encouraged minority youth to take a prominent role in political processes in their
countries, whether by exercising their right to vote or by standing for election.
47. The ensuing discussion was moderated by the Director of the Office of the High
Commissioner on National Minorities of OSCE, Henrik Villadsen. Participants examined
how effective participation by minority youth in public life could lead to more cohesion and
to the recognition of diversity in society more broadly. They also acknowledged that people,
including minority youth, had a particularly important role to play in promoting sustainable
development. They highlighted discrimination, social exclusion and extreme poverty as
mutually reinforcing hurdles that prevented minority youth from participating in public life.
Representatives of Member States shared good practices on how to take into account the
specific needs and aspirations of young minority people in the development by national
institutions of policies targeted at youth and minority youth.
B. Recommendations
48. States should guarantee the representation of minority youth in decision-
making processes at the local, national and international levels, especially those
concerning youth and minority policies. States should also guarantee greater
transparency and outreach to minority youth in decision-making processes, for
example by using youth-friendly tools such as online platforms and social media to
promote the engagement of youth. These measures should enable minority youth to
reach their full potential and actively participate in all spheres of public life.
49. States should ensure an environment that fosters participation of minority
youth in public life and support initiatives such as youth centres, with programmes
that sensitize youth about the benefits of participation in decision-making,
particularly in marginalized areas where minority communities live. They should
monitor the occurrence of hate speech, xenophobia and discrimination and take legal
action against such abuses so that minority youth feel safe being visible in society.
States should ensure that minorities, including minority youth, are adequately
represented in their national and local institutions, including municipalities, schools
and police forces, and should consider the use of quotas to this end. They should
explicitly acknowledge and celebrate diversity within their societies and demonstrate
their commitment to the protection of minority rights.
50. States should support initiatives that reach out to minority youth to encourage
them to be agents of change in their own communities through political engagement,
from the first step of voting through to running for elected office to representing their
communities.
51. States should recognize that minority youth may express different political
opinions than those favoured by the Government and must respect this diversity of
opinion as part of freedom of speech and opinion, which is essential to democracy and
stability. Minority communities should themselves encourage and respect the
expressions and opinions of minority youth, even when the views of minority youth
differ from those of the leaders of minority groups.
52. When implementing policies and programmes targeted at increasing the
participation of youth in public life, including in the political, civil, social, cultural and
economic spheres, States should use disaggregated data analysis to identify whether
these policies and measures reach minority youth on an equal basis and are effective
in promoting their participation in public life.
53. The denial of citizenship disproportionately affects persons belonging to
minorities and prevents them from participating in public life. Statelessness needs to
be effectively addressed by States, including through ratification and implementation
of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
54. Minority youth should have access to employment in the public sector without
discrimination based on language, religion or ethnicity. States should consider
creating posts specifically for ethnic minority youth, including through the use of
quotas.
55. Special measures should also be implemented to facilitate social
entrepreneurship by young people from minority backgrounds, including through
training and financial support to such initiatives.
56. States should develop training and professional orientation programmes to
effectively address youth unemployment, and in particular unemployment among
minority youth. Such programmes need also to be made available in minority
languages.
57. Public institutions should explore innovative ways to reach out to younger
audiences and convey messages about the importance of political participation and
advocacy. Examples of such initiatives include online platforms to collect opinions or
petitions for young people to feed into central Government and municipal policies;
youth parliaments that consider ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity; and training
programmes for minority youth that promote participation.
58. States should also support efforts to engage minority youth through sport and
culture. Such activities can also help develop a spirit of community, both within the
minority community and between the minority community and the broader society.
59. States should ensure that minority youth are able to participate and organize
public cultural events without the need for prior permission or, in limited
circumstances where prior permission may be justified, without being arbitrarily
denied permission, and should support other cultural events that may contribute to
giving positive visibility to minority youth in society. They should make financial and
other resources available to minority youth for the purpose of enabling cultural
expression through public events as a means to promote diversity in society. It is
crucial to consider creating programmes, or allocating resources for programmes, to
provide training for youth to participate in cultural industries, for instance, training
on music recording and production, video production and managing business aspects
of cultural programming, including in their own languages.
60. Ministries of culture should include in their budget adequate funding for
minority youth cultural groups, with particular attention to minority women.
61. States should provide financial support to privately delivered programmes,
through which youth from national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minority groups
can gain relevant substantive knowledge in an area where their interest, experience
and leadership skills lie.
62. States should create an enabling environment for the establishment and
functioning of organizations representative of minority groups.
63. States should value and promote multiculturalism and respect for diversity,
and through this prism develop and implement concrete actions to combat and curb
hate speech, radicalization of any type, intolerance, discrimination and violence.
V. Recommendations regarding the challenges and opportunities for minority youth in media in the digital age
A. Discussion
64. The panel discussion on minority youth in media in the digital age was introduced
by Marina Shupac, journalist and Minority Fellow Coordinator at the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Republic of Moldova); Jonathan Jackson,
co-founder of Blavity.com (United States of America); and Anju Singh, leader of the All
India Dalit Mahila Adhikar Manch (India). The panellists shared their experiences in
creating media platforms to amplify the voices of their communities and mobilize youth to
be aware of the human rights of their communities. The panellists shared the challenges and
opportunities they had encountered using digital media technologies for use by young
people in their communities, and young women in particular, to exercise and defend their
rights. They referred to the difficulty they had experienced in accessing sources of funding
for media initiatives and projects as young persons belonging to minorities. They also
referred to the negative online rhetoric against minorities, in particular minority women.
However, the panellists described social media as a tool for social change. For instance,
appropriate use of social media could contribute to creating new solidarities between
different minority communities and with the rest of society, pushing for new narratives that
could combat misrepresentations of minorities in mainstream media and giving minority
youth a unique means of expressing themselves freely in a manner that could not be easily
obtained through other platforms.
65. The discussion was moderated by Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, former Special Rapporteur on
minority issues and member-elect of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination (Hungary). A number of participants noted that many minority communities,
and in particular young women, did not have effective access to the Internet, and that a
large portion of today’s minority youth were excluded from the online world. Participants
defined the Internet as having contributed to empowering youth by building bridges
between communities and increasing their education and awareness about their rights and
well-being. Participants spoke of their own minority-led media initiatives and about the
tendency for minority media to be overshadowed by major media corporations, often
because of a lack of financial resources. Participants described the issue of hate speech
against minorities in the media as extremely damaging, shaping public opinion and
deterring legislative bodies from adopting laws to help improve minority rights.
Participants shared good practices in relation to the promotion of cultural diversity and
inclusion in the media, for example government initiatives such as journalism awards for
journalists who worked to promote a better understanding of diversity in societies.
B. Recommendations
66. States should guarantee the right to freedom of expression within the media for
all, in particular for young digital media users belonging to minorities. The right to
freedom of expression of minority youth must be guaranteed online. At the same time,
States should take effective measures to prevent and protect minorities against hate
speech online.
67. States should refrain from curtailing access to social networks and blocking
access to websites or restricting access to digital media by any other means,
particularly in ways that have an arbitrary or disproportionate impact on minority
youth. National human rights institutions can play an important role in providing
independent oversight to ensure that no abusive blockage or censorship occurs and to
ensure the safety of digital media users and any other young persons belonging to
minorities who wish to be part of these discussions.
68. States should seek to proactively counter hate speech against minority youth,
populism and xenophobia with a national strategy to combat hate speech on social
media. States have a critical role to play in the promotion of positive images of
minority youth as a means to address the root causes of racism and hate speech,
including through the dissemination of information on the history and culture of
minorities.
69. States should deliver or fund programmes for minority youth aimed at
providing them with the necessary skills to better express themselves through the use
of new technologies.
70. States should commit to the democratization of the Internet as a form of social
justice. They should guarantee the global and open nature of the Internet, which can
be a driving force in accelerating progress towards development and is of particular
importance to minority youth advocacy and connectedness.
71. States should support minority youth-led media initiatives, for example
through national broadcasting agencies and other media institutions such as television
or radio programmes in minority languages, and ensure the inclusion of minority
characters played by minority youth actors. States should ensure that minority media
reach out to other audiences as such outreach would contribute to changing negative
stereotypes of minorities. States should allocate greater human, technical and
financial resources to innovative media projects that can promote diverse societies
and highlight cultural diversity.
72. National and international public institutions should use social media in an
attractive and engaging way to challenge the dominant narratives in the traditional
mainstream media and to give a new voice to minority youth in the media landscape.
73. States should promote the use of social media as a means of direct participation
and access to decision-making, and facilitate the engagement of youth and minority
youth. Social media are a critical tool allowing greater involvement in public life and
creating new spaces for minority youth to participate in public debates, and can
particularly be used as a platform for outreach and advocacy.
74. States should proactively promote cultural diversity, inclusion, education and
tolerance in cooperation with all types of digital media and traditional media, to
disseminate information about minorities’ rights and give a voice to minorities’
concerns and views.
75. States should promote digital literacy in educational curricula and ensure
access to information on the Internet.
76. States should build trust and engage with minority groups before seeking to
disseminate messages concerning them, including through social media.
77. Digital media have an important role to play to counter youth radicalization
and to combat xenophobia and racism.
78. Institutions that train journalists should seek to promote an accurate, equitable
and increased representation of all social groups in the media, and should include in
their programmes training for journalists about human rights, diversity and non-
discrimination, and unconscious bias.
79. Media institutions should promote responsible media and social media usage
through formal and informal education, and should address and raise public
awareness about irresponsible, incomplete and discriminatory media reporting,
seeking to counter it by providing accurate and diverse reporting.
To minority communities
80. Minority media initiatives should be sensitive to issues that directly concern the
respective minority communities as well as to issues that concern the broader society.
In addition, they need to take into consideration the diversity of opinions and
perceptions that exist within the minority communities themselves.
VI. Recommendations on the role of minority youth in promoting peace and stability
A. Discussion
81. The session was introduced by Wai Nu, Director and founder of the Women Peace
Network (Myanmar), Francia Marquez, Afro-Colombian leader and human rights defender
(Colombia) and Nfor Hanson Nchanji, founder of the Cameroon News Agency (Cameroon).
The panellists discussed their experiences as young persons belonging to minorities in
seeking to bring peace, understanding and respect for different communities in their
respective countries. They highlighted the role of young minority men and women as
innovators and agents of change, whose contributions should be seen as an essential part of
building peaceful communities. The panellists explored ways in which minority youth were
adversely affected by armed conflict, including as refugees and internally displaced persons,
and how the disruption of access by young people to education and economic opportunities
could have a dramatic impact on durable peace and reconciliation. They described
combating structural racism and discrimination as a critical component of peacebuilding.
They noted that many minority youth lacked faith in national institutions, and underscored
the importance of providing reparation to minority youth affected by conflict. They
underscored the leadership role of youth in raising awareness on non-violence and peaceful
advocacy.
82. The discussion was moderated by John Packer, Director of the Human Rights
Research and Education Center at the University of Ottawa (Canada). Participants in the
plenary discussion pointed out that youth from historically marginalized communities were
disproportionately affected by conflict and violence. They called for local strategies to
reduce violence and terrorism by fighting the social exclusion of young minority people as
well as measures to address impunity for violations against minority youth and insecurity
within minority communities. Participants hailed the potential of young leaders to establish
links between different religious, ethnic and linguistic communities, and called for greater
support for youth movements.
83. A number of participants made reference to Security Council resolution 2250 (2015)
and the need for meaningful involvement by minority youth, including young minority
women, at all levels of peacebuilding, conflict prevention and countering of violence and
violent extremism. They acknowledged that sustainable and lasting peace could not be
achieved without the meaningful participation of minority youth in the negotiation and
implementation of peace agreements.
84. Participants also highlighted the importance of including young people belonging to
minorities in national efforts to counter violence and extremism. They condemned the
practices of violent extremist groups, including the recruitment of young people in refugee
camps, religious institutions, universities and via social media. Participants spoke of the
vital role young people could play in educational and religious institutions to promote
tolerance and combat hate speech and terrorism, and hailed efforts such as interfaith youth
dialogue initiatives to prevent extremism and promote peace and tolerance.
B. Recommendations
85. States and the international community should ensure targeted protection of
minority youth during and after conflict, in accordance with their obligations under
international human rights and humanitarian law, and investigate and prosecute
those responsible for crimes under international law. Minority youth working as
human rights activists for their community should receive specific protection in times
of conflict.
86. Young people belonging to minorities, and in particular young minority women,
should be included as key beneficiaries of post-conflict reparations.
87. States and United Nations entities should pay particular attention to youth
belonging to minorities when implementing Security Council resolution 2250 (2015).
88. States and the international community should value the contribution of youth
peacebuilders and young civil society actors and engage with them; they should build
trust with, train and work with grass-roots minority youth groups on local and wider
issues related to conflict prevention and peacebuilding. States, parties to conflicts and
the international community should create these channels of communication to assess
the specific needs of minority youth in any given society and include their perspective
and concerns when negotiating and implementing peace processes, including at the
resettlement or repatriation and reintegration and reconstruction stages.
89. States should create a safe environment for minority youth, specifically for
young women, to be able to participate in peacebuilding processes. They should
consider setting up mechanisms that would enable young people belonging to
minorities to participate meaningfully in peace processes and dispute resolution
mechanisms. They should ensure that minority youth, including young minority
women, are meaningfully involved at all levels of peacebuilding, conflict prevention
and countering of violence and violent extremism.
90. Youth intercultural dialogue should be promoted as a critical tool for the
prevention of conflict and the promotion of reconciliation processes and mutual
understanding in post-conflict societies.
91. States should incorporate intercultural learning and conflict resolution skills in
education systems and provide support to civil society educational initiatives that
provide youth, including minority youth, with such learning and skills development.
92. States and regional and international organizations should ensure the support
and development of international programmes for youth, providing the opportunity
for intercultural exchanges and for the recognition and promotion of, and respect for,
diversity.