Somalia most dangerous state for minorities

By Henry Neondo

Somalia is the world’s most dangerous country for minority communities and has overtaken Iraq to top a global ranking of countries where minorities are most under threat, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) says in a new global report, State of the World’s Minorities report launched in New York yesterday.

Sudan is third in the list - a consequence of the continuing appalling levels of violence in Darfur, targeted at farmers such as Zaghawa, Masalit and Fur tribes, by government forces and Arab militia (Janjaweed), and the continuing failure of the international community to find ways of stopping the violence.

Fierce fighting and the threat of state repression have seen Somalia, Iraq and Sudan lead this year’s ranking of ‘Peoples under Threat’, which is a major feature of MRG’s annual ‘State of the World’s Minorities’ report. Last year Iraq led the list and Somalia was in third place.

‘A new government in Somalia has raised hopes for democracy, but it is also a uniquely dangerous time. There is the spectre of a return of large-scale clan violence - and groups that supported the old order are now under tremendous threat," Mark Lattimer, Director of MRG says.

The report says that while half of the top twenty most dangerous countries in the world for minorities are in Africa, South Africa has the most ethnically representative parliament in the world, Minority Rights Group says in two separate surveys in the report.

Somalia leads a list of countries where minorities are most under threat and African states including Sudan, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi dominate the top 20 list of ‘Peoples under threat’, which is a key feature of MRG’s report.

The report has a separate ranking of minority representation in legislatures which is also led by Africa. South Africa leads the list, closely followed by Namibia and Tanzania.

"Africa as a continent stands out for its contradictions. Three African countries beat established western democracies to boast of the best minority political representation in the world," says Mark Lattimer, MRG’s Director.

South Africa’s post-apartheid policies to ensure representation of minorities have made the country’s parliament among the most ethnically representative of any democratic legislature in the world.

In South Africa, white, coloured and Indian minorities are strongly represented in parliament compared to their population figures but the country has also been successful in politically integrating other communities including Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Tswana and Venda, along with Zulu and KwaZulu, all of whom have political representation.

Similarly in the current Namibian Assembly 10 distinct ethnic groups are represented and the country’s 60 percent Ovambo majority only have 50 percent of seats. Tanzania’s high ranking is a result of the strong representation of people from the island of Zanzibar in their National Assembly.

"But in glaring contrast with this good practice are ten African States included in the top twenty countries where minorities are most under threat," Lattimer adds.

Conflict, clan violence and threats of state repression are amongst a variety of reasons that these ten African states are seen as dangerous for minorities.

Key allies of the US in its ‘war on terror’, including the governments of Pakistan, Turkey and Israel, intensified repression of particular ethnic communities in 2006. Pakistan is in the top 20 list and Turkey and Israel/OT have both shown major rises in the rankings.

"US allies have managed to barter their support for the war on terror in return for having their human rights record ignored," says Lattimer.

"The debate continues to rage about whether the ‘war on terror’ has made the world a safer place for the West, but it has certainly made it a much more dangerous place for minorities," Lattimer adds.

According to the report one of the main spill-offs of the war on terror has been the rise in Islamaphobia in the EU including the UK - affecting millions of ethnic Arab and South Asian and other Muslim minorities.

African States make up more than half of the top 20 list. Sudan is third in the list - a consequence of the continuing appalling levels of violence in Darfur, targeted at farmers such as Zaghawa, Masalit and Fur tribes, by government forces and Arab militia (Janjaweed), and the continuing failure of the international community to find ways of stopping the violence.

Iraq continues to see targeted killings of people from minority groups including Christians, Yezidis and Mandaeans. Other minority groups in Iraq face daily violence, torture and political assimilation, which has led to an exodus of these communities from the country.

Another major riser in the rankings is Turkey where tensions surrounding the EU accession process are driving a growth in virulent religious and nationalist extremism. These were thrust into the international spotlight by the murder of Turkish-Armenian human rights lawyer Hrant Dink in late December 2006.

But the biggest jump of all is Sri Lanka which saw a return to conflict last year and which moved 47 places since 2006 to be ranked 14th in 2007. Minority Tamils and Muslims are not only caught up in fighting between government and rebel forces but are targeted for human rights abuses including abductions and disappearances because of their minority status. Afghanistan, Burma and Thailand are other Asian countries leading the list.

"In three-quarters of the world’s conflicts, the killing is now targeted at particular ethnic or religious groups. Because they are usually minorities their suffering is largely ignored," Lattimer says.

"International leaders must wake up to the fact that many of today’s conflicts, particularly in Africa, are the result of decades of economic marginalization of minorities and indigenous peoples."