A fairer world - The Tasmanian Center for Global Learning

Did you know?
  • It is estimated that between 10 and 20 per cent of the world's population belongs to a minority group.*
  • More than 150 countries have significant minority ethnic or religious groups, and only 30 countries do not have a religious or ethnic minority that constitutes at least 10% of their population.*
  • In 2001, 2.8 million Australians (16% of the population) spoke a language other than English at home. *
  • In London, children in state schools speak some 300 different languages. *

Take Action

Support a group that is actively seeking to protect the rights of minority groups, such as, Disabled Peoples International or Australians Against Racism.


Minorities


“From the Americas to Europe and Asia to Africa, we can see that degradation in the rights of minorities threatens the security of whole societies".
Gay McDougall, United Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues


Minorities groups are the most likely to be subject to discrimination and disadvantage in society. The definition of “minority” is much disputed. But generally it is considered to include people who can be identified on philosophical/religious or cultural/linguistic/ethnic grounds. The world is filled with examples of those who suffer because they are part of a minority, whether they are followers of Falun Gong in China, members of the Bahai’ community in Iran or an Aboriginal person living in Australia.

Health, financial status, age, education, gender and class, can also be the basis for the creation of minority groups. These factors may create minorities within the minority groups themselves. Women and children, the elderly, those with disabilities or a mental illness, the homeless and the unemployed are all likely to experience discrimination. These people can become the “invisible” members of society. They are forgotten, rather than being made the focus of attention as is the case for so many minority groups.

Refugees and displaced people, who often come from minority groups in their homelands, can end up becoming part of another minority in their new countries of residence.
It is essential that all minority groups remain free from discrimination and racism. Their identities must be recognised and valued by the members of the wider society within which they live.

For other pages that are relevant to minorities see also Human Rights and Indigenous People.


General background on minority groups


Minorities tend to be forgotten by the media and it is all too easy to remain unaware of their situations. These sites will help you to fill in some of the gaps in your own awareness and they will indicate some of the ways in which positive change can be achieved for some of the world’s most disadvantaged peoples.

  •  The Minority Rights Group International works on behalf of minority communities around the world. Their site includes many online reports and a summary of their survey, “State of the World’s Minorities, 2006”.
  • Useful pamphlets and reports can be found in the Minorities Section of the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights site.
  • A collection of materials relating to the issue of protecting minority rights has been compiled by the University of Colorado’s Conflict Research Consortium.


Racism


Racism is often the most common form of discrimination experienced by minority groups.

  •  The World Conference against Racism in 2001 provided an international forum for action on racism and xenophobia. IMADR (International Movement Against all forms of Discrimination and Racism), an organisation acting to protect minority rights, critiques the Conference and offers additional background information.
  • The Internet Centre Anti Racism Europe offers a good overview of the European situation. It’s Crosspoint Anti Racism database contains subject and geographical links to over 2,000 relevant organisations worldwide.

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