MINELRES: MRG eBulletin / September 2008

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Original sender: Minority Rights Group <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


Trouble in Paradise Campaign update

Wilson Kipkazi, of the Endorois Welfare Council, sent supporters of the 
campaign this message:

�The launch of the Trouble in Paradise online campaign is a mile stone in the 
Endorois community�s struggle to be recognized as a people who have a right to 
the natural resources on their land. The world is a global village, and to 
address issues online will expose human rights violations against minority and 
indigenous peoples that have been conducted until now with impunity. Natural 
justice must prevail at all times.�

Four weeks into the campaign and we�re delighted to announce that we have 260 
signatures for our online petition in support of the Endorois, a pastoralist 
community from Kenya, evicted from their ancestral lands to make way for a 
game reserve in the 1970s.

However, we have a long way to go if we�re to meet our goal of 5000 signatures 
by the end of 2008. If you haven�t already done so please add your voice and 
banish trouble from paradise by signing the petition at 
http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6775

Find out more about the campaign at 
http://www.minorityrights.org/troubleinparadise


MRG in the news - a selection of the major stories featuring MRG's views


UN Declaration on Rights of Indigenous Peoples is a human rights milestone 

Paul Mulindwa [Africa project officer, MRG (Africa Office)]: "The coming into 
force of this declaration supports the protection and promotion of human 
rights of indigenous peoples in the world. It is a landmark declaration that 
brought to an end nearly 25 years of debatable discussions over the rights of 
indigenous and minority peoples, to protect their lands and resources, and to 
maintain their unique cultures and traditions wherever they are located. This 
not only fulfills article 27 of ICCPR but also enables its clear 
implementation. 

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/hotline/2008/08/un-declaration-on-rights-of-
indigenous.php


Kenya's honey hunter tribe driven from forest by political unrest

The Ogiek believe they arrived in the Mau forest in the Kenyan Rift Valley as 
a punishment, banished by their god for the crime of killing an elephant. He 
told them they could only ever eat food from the forest. 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article4622000.ece


Coming up

New campaign - A Show of Hands: Communities combating climate change
Scheduled launch � mid September

UN member states are locked in negotiations to get a climate change deal 
through by 2009, which will set new targets for carbon emissions. Indigenous 
and minority communities have been left out of this� and other crucial 
negotiations - as governments grapple with how to respond to the threat of 
global warming. Their voices must be heard.

MRG needs you 
- to give us 'a show of hands' in support of communities worst affected by 
climate change 
- to call on the UN member states to allow minority and indigenous communities 
to effectively participate in the current climate change negotiations. 
Check the MRG website for more details over the next few weeks.


Upcoming publications

In the next few months MRG will be publishing reports and briefings on 
education in Turkey, the African Court of Human and Peoples� Rights, the EULEX 
mission in Kosovo and pastoralist women in Africa. 

See http://www.minorityrights.org/publications for more details.


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

Blog - Minorities in focus

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.
Matilde Ceravolo, MRG�s Fundraiser, tells us about her fascination with 
Kampala whilst at an MRG workshop for Batwa women in Uganda.
http://minorityrights.wordpress.com/


New briefing paper

Kenya six months on: A new beginning or business as usual? 
28 August 2008

The Kenyan government has failed to support vital peace-making efforts aimed 
at healing ethnic divisions in the country following the country�s worst 
outbreak of violence since independence, says the international human rights 
organization Minority Rights Group International in this new briefing paper.
http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=7096


Job opportunities at MRG

MRG is looking for experienced evaluators for the following projects:
1. Combating Discrimination and Promoting Minority Rights in Turkey 2005-2008
For more information visit http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=7036
2. Strengthening the capacity of African minorities and indigenous peoples to 
advocate for the implementation of African regional and international 
standards 2005-2008
For more information visit http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=6807


MRG's World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 

MRG�s 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

For the latest developments visit the The World Directory of Minorities and 
Indigenous Peoples' most recently updated country pages on Abkhazia, Algeria, 
Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Central 
African Republic, Colombia and Chile.

**


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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