In memory of Ben Whitaker, an early and inspired advocate for the cause of minority rights. State of theWorld’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 20151 Events of 2014 Front cover: A Yi minority woman from Yunnan province stands among a crowd of fellow attendees of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 2015. EPA/Wu Hong Inside front cover: A Bedouin girl in southern Israel’s Negev desert. REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly Inside back cover: A Garifuna boy stands on a beach in Honduras. Steve Pavey Acknowledgements Minority Rights Group International (MRG) Support our work gratefully acknowledges the support of all Donate at www.minorityrights.org/donate organizations and individuals who gave financial MRG relies on the generous support of institutions and other assistance to this publication, including and individuals to help us secure the rights of CAFOD and the European Union. minorities and indigenous peoples around the world. 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Learn more about minority and indigenous communities at www.minorityvoices.org ISBN 978-1-907919-63-3 Visit our online newsroom for stories and multimedia content from minorities and indigenous Published: July 2015 communities around the world. Lead reviewer: Carl Soderbergh Production: The Curved House Copy editing: Sophie Richmond Follow us: Proof reading: Jacqui Lewis Design: Tom Carpenter, Texture @minorityrights Printed in the UK www.facebook.com/minorityrights Minority Rights Group International 54 Commercial Street, London E1 6LT, This publication is funded by the United Kingdom. European Union. The content is Tel: +44 (0)20 7422 4200 the sole responsibility of Minority Fax: +44 (0)20 7422 4201 Rights Group International and can under no Email: [email protected] circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position Website: www.minorityrights.org of the European Union. Focus on cities State of theWorld’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 20151 Events of 2014 Edited by Peter Grant Minority Rights Group International Introduction 6 Foreword Rita Izsák, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Part 1 Thematic essays 10 Minority and indigenous peoples’ rights in urban areas Corinne Lennox 22 Minorities and indigenous peoples in cities – conflict and conciliation Chris Chapman 32 Minority and indigenous women and urbanization Nicole Girard 44 Advocacy, participation and inclusion for minorities in urban areas Sajjad Hassan 54 The indigenous experience of urbanization Carolyn Stephens 62 Urbanization, minorities and indigenous peoples: how can the law provide protection? Lucy Claridge Part 2 Regional overviews 72 Africa Inga Thiemann, Paige Wilhite Jennings and Laura A. Young 106 Americas Mariah Grant, Alfredo Gutierrez Carrizo, Janet Oropeza Eng, Carolyn Stephens and Derek Verbakel 136 Asia and Oceania Michael Caster, Shikha Dilawri, Nicole Girard, Hanna Hindstrom, Matthew Naumann and Jacqui Zalcberg 202 Europe Bill Bowring, Paul Iganski, Shorena Kobaidze, Nataliya Novakova, Tom Palmer and Federica Prina 226 Middle East and North Africa Sarah El Ashmawy, Tom Palmer, Miriam Puttick and Derek Verbakel Part 3 Peoples under Threat 250 Peoples under Threat 2015 Mark Lattimer and Derek Verbakel Part 4 Reference 267 Selected abbreviations 268 Contributors 271 Editor’s acknowledgements Foreword Rita Izsák, UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues 6 Foreword State of the World’s Minorities 2009 inorities and indigenous peoples of disaggregated data or overlooked altogether by have played a central role in cities local authorities. M around the world for centuries, The complex issues and challenges of urban whether as established communities with a indigenous and minority groups, which are presence spanning generations, or as new arrivals often rooted in social and institutional prejudice, in search of security, livelihoods and greater cannot be addressed solely through conventional freedoms. From New York’s Chinatown to the approaches to urban poverty reduction. Cities rich historical fabric of Mosul, until recently one must also proactively acknowledge and tackle of the most diverse areas in Iraq, under the right specific dimensions of discrimination. As with conditions minority and indigenous communities gender, disability, age and other potential areas have not only been able to prosper but also of vulnerability, planners and policy makers need contributed in numerous ways to the growth, to develop specific strategies that tackle minority development and diversity of their cities. For this and indigenous concerns. While the experiences to happen, however, adequate protection and of minority and indigenous communities policies must be in place to ensure that minority vary widely and cannot be easily generalized, and indigenous residents can freely and equally common priorities include increased security enjoy the opportunities that urban areas offer. in local neighbourhoods, heritage conservation, Sadly, all too often this is not the case. Since protection from evictions, equitable service being appointed UN Special Rapporteur on delivery and an end to segregation, both social minority issues in 2011, I regularly receive and physical. complaints and letters from minority groups from This impressive volume put together by all regions reporting allegations of discrimination Minority Rights Group International (MRG) in urban contexts. Even in countries with high highlights the continued failure of many levels of economic development, well-functioning municipal officials, city planners and other public services and a stated commitment urban decision makers to recognize and support to equality, many minority and indigenous their minority and indigenous populations. populations still live in slum-like conditions Furthermore, it draws attention to the limited on the urban margins. Other challenges facing understanding among rights activists of the minority and indigenous city dwellers include specific implications that urbanization has lack of access to appropriate services, inadequate for minority and indigenous communities. In housing, including threats of evictions, and other Canada, where the majority of the country’s manifestations of social exclusion. In addition, First Nations population now live in urban many face the daily threat of violence and areas, entrenched exclusion and discrimination intimidation from local gangs, right-wing groups have pushed young community members into and even police. Minorities and indigenous criminal gangs. In Bangladesh, Dhaka’s Dalit peoples in cities also must contend with how well population are mostly concentrated in isolated cities welcome their contributions to the cultural and unsanitary ‘colonies’ where basic services urban landscape and facilitate their participation such as water access are largely absent. In in the development of vibrant, multicultural Uganda, poverty and crop failure have driven urban identities. many Karamajong to migrate to Kampala, Yet I note that while some cities have taken where community members can end up engaged steps to adapt to certain urban issues, such as in begging, prostitution or being exploited in developing inclusively designed public spaces other ways. Though each example is unique, the or gender-sensitive transportation to respond to common thread between them is the particular challenges that women face in urban areas, the challenges that urban areas present for these concerns of minorities and indigenous peoples, groups. on the other hand, have yet to be mainstreamed This volume is an important contribution into urban policy to the same degree. As a result, to better understanding some of the challenges their predicament is often invisible in official facing indigenous and minority urban censuses or city planning, disguised by an absence communities, whose struggles often remain State of the World’s Minorities Foreword 7 and Indigenous Peoples 2015 invisible. Moreover, while this report provides sector, to strengthen understanding of how a global overview with extensive and well- these challenges can be addressed and actively researched examples, it also asks the important improve the situation of marginalized urban questions often forgotten when thinking about communities. In many countries, in fact, this field: how can we better understand the minority and indigenous rights activism is alive challenges and causes of discrimination against and well in cities, where the necessary networks and marginalization of minorities and indigenous and resources do exist and could be readily peoples in urban environments, as well as propose mobilized. Though this volume often presents solutions and