NATIONAL SEMINAR ON :

CONSTITUTIONAL
GOVERNANCE AND
PROTECTION OF MINORITY
RIGHTS
Paper Presentation on :
Minority Rights and International Law

Jasveen Singh & Ashish Vijay.

Pursuing BA L.L.B ,College of Legal Studies ,
UPES
 Introduction
ACCORDING TO THE OXFORD’S
DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE
‘MINORITY’ IS DEFINED AS –

‘A SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE WITHIN

A COMMUNITY OR COUNTRY,
DIFFERENT FROM THE MAIN
POPULATION IN RACE, RELIGION,
LANGUAGE, OR POLITICAL
IDEOLOGY’
HUMAN RIGHTS & MINORITIES
 Human Rights are individual rights , these rights
are against state and the individual .
 Minorities form a portion of society , and
these individuals are to be protected against the
atrocities that they tend to suffer from the hands
of the Majority.
 Human Rights ensure that these rights of
individuals do not get infringed by majority .
 We have seen episodes of atrocities and
discrimination against minorities , & dividing
minorities on basis of ‘Ethnic Minority’ and
‘Regional Minority’
 Throughout history minorities have suffered at
the hands of oppressive majorities, facing
discrimination , expulsion, & even genocide, and
repression by governments aiming at cultural
unity has often resulted in loss of identity
and culture.

 One of the difficult challenges government(s)

face in an increasingly dexterous world is
to maintain a balance between right concerns
of minorities and of the ruling majority.
INTERNATIONAL LAW AND MINORITY
RIGHTS

 Human rights are freedoms established by customs

or international agreement that impose standards of
conduct on all nations.
 Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
refers to minorities as based on national or ethnic,
cultural, religious and linguistic identity, and provides
that States should protect their existence.

 There is no internationally agreed definition as to

which groups constitute minorities.

 The absence of a universally agreed definition of a

‘minority’ reflects that many states have propounded
their own definition of minorities , which they set forth
according to their own needs and often it is derogatory
to the rights of minorities
 Recognition is key to assure the rights of
minority groups in a state.

 Lack of recognition lead to the instability and conflict.

 There will be peace between these section of

society once minorities get recognized in a
state/nation.
You can see that this Graph tells us about ‘only the Visible group of majority’
 The UN general assembly passed a resolution declaring
that “the UN could not remain indifferent to the
fate of minorities’’.

 The major UN development through was the

insertion of article 27 in the ICCPR, ( International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights )

 Today, in international law, article 27 is the most widely

acknowledged provision affording protection to minorities.
WHAT DOES ARTICLE 27 STATE ?
 Article 27 of the Covenant provides that-

in those States in which ethnic, religious or

linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to
these minorities shall not be denied the
right, in community with the other
members of their group, to enjoy their own
culture, to profess and practise their own
religion, or to use their own language.
MINORITIES IN ASIA-PACIFIC REGION -

 The situation of religious minorities in Asia

is complex and diverse.
 These minorities have issues in common too:
many are subject to severe physical, political,
social, economic and cultural oppression.
 Denial of religious minority rights in Asia is
often half-hidden . It include limited access to
education and employment opportunities, which
leads to the perpetuation of poverty.
 In Pakistan and Bangladesh, state policies were
considered to be exclusionist with no genuine
effort to integrate , they excluded the minorities
from actual calculation of almost everything.

 India, all minority communities’ representatives

mentioned the threat of physical assaults , in
some way or the other and has even taken practical
stand.

 In China, policies are centred on

communism/nationalism and religion is excluded.
 WHAT DO WE CONCLUDE :
The need of the hour in the contemporary time is to –
 Recognize minorities in regions and identify them .

 Lay emphasis on not just the Visible minority but also

the half hidden minorities in regions.

 Draft laws or provide for amendments as necessary for

the protection and promotion of minorities in state.

 Only observation of rights and discrimination may not

be sufficient for an adequate protection of minorities but
minority groups need special rights and protections.
 Thank You ! !

Jasveen Singh & Ashish Vijay.

Pursuing BA L.L.B ,College of Legal Studies , UPES