Minority Rights Group International (MRG)/ Promoting the Inclusion of Marginalized Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2014-2016

Description What is done in the programme or project and why, what results are pursued, who benefits from the activities and who are involved in the implementation.

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) is a non-governmental organisation with over 40 years of experience of working to secure the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples worldwide, and to promote cooperation and understanding between communities. MRG’s current strategy focuses on countering discrimination against minorities and indigenous peoples and ensuring they benefit equitably from development; protecting communities under threat and those persecuted for their identity; and strengthening the voices of minorities and indigenous peoples. This proposed programme aims to ensure the inclusion of marginalized minorities and indigenous peoples in development and to promote their full participation in decisions that affect their lives. It combines capacity-building and technical support for minority and indigenous advocates on the ground in target developing countries with effective media work and advocacy at a time of pressing threats to minorities and opportunites for the post-2015 agenda. The programme has four components: •Strengthening minority rights advocacy in Africa Train minority rights activists on their rights and how to best claim them, provide support to make organisations stronger and more effective, support activists to bring legal challenges where violations of minority rights occur, support minority women to raise issues of intersectional discrimination. •Awareness raising and media work in the Global South: Minority inclusion in the post-2015 agenda Ensure that marginalised minority communities can get their voices heard in the global media to draw attention to their issues and ensure they are fairly included in the post-2015 development agenda. •Promoting human rights in conflict situations Intervene where conflict puts minority communities at risk, give them the tools and skills to collect and report evidence of violations, raise awareness of risks of genocide and mass killings, promote innovative and inclusive approaches to reconciliation. •Strengthening civil society organizations in the Eastern Partnership region This programme seeks to leverage EU influence to improve respect for minority rights in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus. The project focuses on capacity building, network strengthening and the push for inclusion of minorities in decision making that affects them including national and local government and development planning.