New global survey by MRG: Minority and indigenous cultures under threat, state protections falling short

The cultures of minority and indigenous groups around the world are seriously under threat, says Minority Rights Group International (MRG) in its annual flagship report, State of the World’s Minorities and Indigenous Peoples, which focuses in 2016 on culture and heritage. The report highlights the impact of armed conflict, land dispossession, forced assimilation and discrimination on the most fundamental aspects of minority and indigenous identities. This comprehensive global survey analyzes human rights situations facing minorities and indigenous peoples throughout the world and gives examples of current human rights abuses in Iraq, Syria, Kenya, Ethiopia, China, Brazil, as well as various countries across North America and Europe.

The report also contains examples where minority and indigenous activists have drawn on their cultural heritage to mobilize their communities and to achieve notable successes. This includes people of Haitian descent in the Dominican Republic, the Roma in Italy and the Maasai in Tanzania, among others.

‘While the outlook may be gloomy, we shouldn’t forget that many minorities and indigenous peoples are actively drawing on their cultures and heritage in new and creative ways in order to combat discrimination, build community support and garner much needed income for their members,’ says Carl Soderbergh, MRG’s Director of Policy and Communications.

Download the complete report here.