SUDAN-SOMALIA: Dangerous for minorities
NAIROBI, 29 April 2010 (IRIN) - Somalia and Sudan are ranked first and second respectively out of 10 countries where communities face the greatest risk of violence resulting from prevailing armed conflict, political violence, displacement and absence of the rule of law, according to a new analysis.
Other countries listed in Peoples under threat 2010 [http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=9889&bid=115] by Minority Rights Group International (MRG), a London-based NGO, are Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Chad.
"With the absence of an effective state authority or an accepted rule of law in Somalia, marginalized minorities outside the clan system, like both the Bantu and Gaboye, are at particular risk of persecution," Marusca Perazzi, spokeswoman for MRG, told IRIN at the launch of the report in Nairobi on 27 April.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), [http://www.unhcr.org/.../country,,,COUNTRYPROF,SOM,456d621e2,4954ce42c,0.html], the Bantu minority are Somalia's forgotten people, and together with other communities, such as the Gaboye and other caste groups like the Tumal, they experience discrimination and lack effective security.
The minorities at stake in Sudan include the Murle, Kachipo, Anyuak, Jie and Longarim, Didinga and Boya. They face the risk of attacks from the majority Dinka, MRG said, who want to appropriate land belonging to minorities, or clashes from within the minority communities who have not learnt to accommodate each other or due to revenge fights caused by cattle rustling. They are also at risk of poor or no government representation and climate change.
"Taking the case of Sudan, the referendum on independence for the South in 2011 is a critical time," Oleyo Longony from the Boma Development Initiative, a Sudanese NGO working with MRG, told IRIN. "The suspected unhappiness because of the proposed border demarcations and the fact that people are already re-arming, could lead to mass violence, particularly for the Dinka and Nuer peoples."
Also at risk are the Fur, Zaghawa and Massalit in Darfur.
"We believe than when minorities are not protected or do not have a voice in the government, sooner or later it will lead to violence," said Perazzi. "Thus, the massacres in the country were supported by the fact that foreign countries failed to address these nuanced details when preparing for negotiations and during their aid interventions."
Early warning
The MRG analysis is based on indicators of good governance from the World Bank, conflict indicators from the Center for Systemic Peace, as well as the country credit risk classification published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
MRG says the three states that have risen most prominently in the table in 2010 are Sudan, the Russian Federation and the Philippines.
On several occasions in the past five years, countries that have risen sharply up the table have later proved to be the scene of gross human rights violations, Perazzi told IRIN.
For example, Kenya was ranked 51 out of 176 countries in 2007. The following year, Kenya shot up to number 14 after elections in December 2007 sparked widespread violence that claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced some 600,000 people.
Prior to the poll violence MRG had signalled that Kenya was on the brink of ethnic violence if the government failed to demonstrate a commitment to addressing deeply ingrained historical social injustices engulfing Kenya's ethnic landscape.
In the latest rankings, Kenya is 41st, a significant drop, according to Mohamed Matovu, MRG's Regional Information Officer, because of recent political reforms and the threat of International Criminal Court indictments hanging over several senior politicians.
Kenyan ethnic groups still at risk include the Borana, Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Luhya, Somali, Turkana, Endorois, Maasai and Ogiek. The Kalenjin, Luhya and Kikuyu are at risk of targeted inter-ethnic attacks and revenge killings from minority communities that feel their deprivation and marginalization is deliberately orchestrated by elites within the majority ethnic tribes.
According to MRG, some Kenyan minorities (Somalis, Ogieks, Endorois, etc) face even greater risks because of forced land grabbing and displacement, rendering them voiceless within national political and decision-making processes.
"The difference between our statistical analysis tool and other products is that ours is an early warning system, not an assessment done in the aftermath of events. Minorities are not defined by numbers but by the lack of participation and exclusion from the decision-making process. This creates political instability and for us, is an indicator and clear warning that the future of the country is at stake," Matovu told IRIN.
cp/am/eo/mw[END]
NAIROBI, 29 April 2010 (IRIN) - Somalia and Sudan are ranked first and second respectively out of 10 countries where communities face the greatest risk of violence resulting from prevailing armed conflict, political violence, displacement and absence of the rule of law, according to a new analysis.
Other countries listed in Peoples under threat 2010 [http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=9889&bid=115] by Minority Rights Group International (MRG), a London-based NGO, are Iraq, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Chad.
"With the absence of an effective state authority or an accepted rule of law in Somalia, marginalized minorities outside the clan system, like both the Bantu and Gaboye, are at particular risk of persecution," Marusca Perazzi, spokeswoman for MRG, told IRIN at the launch of the report in Nairobi on 27 April.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), [http://www.unhcr.org/.../country,,,COUNTRYPROF,SOM,456d621e2,4954ce42c,0.html], the Bantu minority are Somalia's forgotten people, and together with other communities, such as the Gaboye and other caste groups like the Tumal, they experience discrimination and lack effective security.
The minorities at stake in Sudan include the Murle, Kachipo, Anyuak, Jie and Longarim, Didinga and Boya. They face the risk of attacks from the majority Dinka, MRG said, who want to appropriate land belonging to minorities, or clashes from within the minority communities who have not learnt to accommodate each other or due to revenge fights caused by cattle rustling. They are also at risk of poor or no government representation and climate change.
"Taking the case of Sudan, the referendum on independence for the South in 2011 is a critical time," Oleyo Longony from the Boma Development Initiative, a Sudanese NGO working with MRG, told IRIN. "The suspected unhappiness because of the proposed border demarcations and the fact that people are already re-arming, could lead to mass violence, particularly for the Dinka and Nuer peoples."
Also at risk are the Fur, Zaghawa and Massalit in Darfur.
"We believe than when minorities are not protected or do not have a voice in the government, sooner or later it will lead to violence," said Perazzi. "Thus, the massacres in the country were supported by the fact that foreign countries failed to address these nuanced details when preparing for negotiations and during their aid interventions."
Early warning
The MRG analysis is based on indicators of good governance from the World Bank, conflict indicators from the Center for Systemic Peace, as well as the country credit risk classification published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
MRG says the three states that have risen most prominently in the table in 2010 are Sudan, the Russian Federation and the Philippines.
On several occasions in the past five years, countries that have risen sharply up the table have later proved to be the scene of gross human rights violations, Perazzi told IRIN.
For example, Kenya was ranked 51 out of 176 countries in 2007. The following year, Kenya shot up to number 14 after elections in December 2007 sparked widespread violence that claimed more than 1,000 lives and displaced some 600,000 people.
Prior to the poll violence MRG had signalled that Kenya was on the brink of ethnic violence if the government failed to demonstrate a commitment to addressing deeply ingrained historical social injustices engulfing Kenya's ethnic landscape.
In the latest rankings, Kenya is 41st, a significant drop, according to Mohamed Matovu, MRG's Regional Information Officer, because of recent political reforms and the threat of International Criminal Court indictments hanging over several senior politicians.
Kenyan ethnic groups still at risk include the Borana, Kalenjin, Kikuyu, Luhya, Somali, Turkana, Endorois, Maasai and Ogiek. The Kalenjin, Luhya and Kikuyu are at risk of targeted inter-ethnic attacks and revenge killings from minority communities that feel their deprivation and marginalization is deliberately orchestrated by elites within the majority ethnic tribes.
According to MRG, some Kenyan minorities (Somalis, Ogieks, Endorois, etc) face even greater risks because of forced land grabbing and displacement, rendering them voiceless within national political and decision-making processes.
"The difference between our statistical analysis tool and other products is that ours is an early warning system, not an assessment done in the aftermath of events. Minorities are not defined by numbers but by the lack of participation and exclusion from the decision-making process. This creates political instability and for us, is an indicator and clear warning that the future of the country is at stake," Matovu told IRIN.
cp/am/eo/mw[END]
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