Increased risk for minority civilians in renewed wars against Islamic extremists – new global survey
2 July 2009
Despite changes in the US approach to the Muslim world, civilian populations are at greater risk than ever before in countries at the frontline of the war against terrorism, Minority Rights Group International (MRG) says as it launches its annual global ‘Peoples Under Threat’ ranking.
Both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities are at growing risk in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen, and the threat is also rising in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the ranking show. ‘The rhetoric of the “war on terror” may have been abandoned’, says Mark Lattimer, Executive Director of MRG, ‘But the reality of war is still being experienced by civilians on the frontline. For many communities in the Muslim world, the level of threat has actually increased in recent months’, he adds.
The internationally acclaimed global ranking for 2009, released today, have Somalia, Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan leading the table. In each of these countries violence against minorities of a widespread or systematic character is ongoing, as it is in a number of other states near the top of the list, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, MRG says.
Pakistan is the most significant riser in the ranking compared to the previous years. Other countries that have shown major rises include Ethiopia, Eritrea, Georgia, Zimbabwe, Guinea, Niger, Kenya, and Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Half the top 20 countries in Peoples under Threat 2009 are African states and 6 are Asian. The annual ranking list countries based on the threat to civilian life of genocide, mass killings and/or violent repression.
According to MRG the military response to violent extremism as promoted by the US and allied countries has resulted in a new generation of identity conflicts that have placed whole communities in peril.
In those states most affected, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and Somalia, the civilian population faces the combined threat of terrorist attacks by armed opposition groups, military operations by national armed forces or by the US or its allies and, most dangerous of all, the wider armed struggle for power that has developed based on sectarian or ethnic identities.
“It is this combination of factors, created and sustained by armed conflict, that makes the situation so deadly for both Muslim and non-Muslim minorities,” Lattimer says.
‘President Obama has himself acknowledged that it is easier to start wars than to end them. To end the current generation of identity conflicts, civilian protection must become the priority.’ Lattimer says.
Notes to the Editor
i. The Peoples Under Threat survey seeks to identify those peoples or groups that are most under threat of genocide, mass killing or other systematic violent repression in 2008. The survey with a description of how it is compiled will be available on www.minorityrights.org on 2 July 2009.
ii. This is the fourth year MRG has compiled the ranking. Previous rankings can be found http://www.minorityrights.org/837/peoples-under-threat/peoples-under-threat-2008.html.
iii. Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is a non governmental organisation working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide.
For more information and to arrange interviews with:
• Mark Lattimer, MRG Executive Director (English)
• Representatives of minority communities in some of the listed countries
Contact the MRG Press Office:
Farah Mihlar/Emma Eastwood
T: + 44 207 422 4205
M: + 44 7870 596863 or +44 7989 699984
E: farah.mihlar@mrgmail.org or emma.eastwood@mrgmail.org