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Leadership Council Announces Middle East Minorities Database Project
Washington, D.C. – The Leadership Council for Human Rights (LCHR) is creating a comprehensive database of ethnic and religious minorities in the greater Middle East to promote recognition of these groups and the need for cross-cultural tolerance in the Arab world. The Middle East is home to dozens of distinct ethnic and religious groups, which share a common history of persecution. Women in the region, while not statistically speaking a minority, are also victims of discrimination based on gender. Women belonging to ethnic and religious minorities are often doubly victimized; in some parts of the Arab world women’s worth is only half of a man’s. There is a great need to foster understanding of the history of indigenous peoples and how as the world changes, the needs of minorities remain the same.
LCHR President Kathryn Cameron Porter recently attended the inaugural gathering of the Organization for the Defense of the Rights of Minorities and Women in the Middle East and North Africa in Zurich, Switzerland, during which participants representing a wide spectrum of minorities pledged to unite for collective rights. The newfound body released the following statement following the conference: “The suffering of minorities and women in the Middle East and North Africa is part and parcel of the suffering [of the region]…which stems from the absence of democracy and human rights, the tyranny of majorities and the steady growth of religious extremism.”
The minorities’ database concept was conceived as a result of the Zurich conference, and will appear on LCHR’s website, www.leadership-council.org. Through careful documentation of minorities in the region, LCHR will raise awareness of the truly diverse inhabitants of the region and the acute need to devote attention to minority rights.
LCHR’s database will highlight the status of Middle East minorities through history, illustrating the movement of populations and subsequent formation of Diaspora communities. As an advocate for minorities and women in the Middle East, LCHR will use the database as a tool to emphasize recognition and tolerance of, as well as rights, respect and justice for peoples at risk. Specifically, LCHR aims to promote individual rights, language rights, and the right of minority populations to enjoy peaceful, public lives without fear.
To enhance data collection, LCHR seeks pertinent information from representatives of minority communities in the region. To contribute information to the Middle East Minorities Database, please contact lc4hr@leadership-council.org.
Please click here to read about this project in PDF format. |
