Minority Rights Group's Online World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

MRG's World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
MRG recently launched the first online database of the world's
minorities and indigenous peoples. The World Directory of Minorities and
Indigenous Peoples covers 220 of the world's countries and dependent
territories, and features profiles of about 700 minorities/indigenous
peoples. It is a unique resource for policy-makers, governments,
journalists, academics and all those with an interest in the growing
field of minority rights.

http://www.minorityrights.org/directory

Some Recent Law Review Articles on Ethnic Minorities:

A SUMMARY OF CONTRADICTIONS: AN OUTLINE OF THE EU'S MAIN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL APPROACHES TO ETHNIC MINORITY PROTECTION
Dimitry Kochenov.
Boston College International and Comparative Law Review, Volume 31, Number 1, Winter 2008, p.1

Age, Racial/Ethnic Minority Status, Gender and Misdemeanor Sentencing
Edward A. Munoz, Adrienne B. Freng.
Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, Volume 5, Issue 4, 2007, p.29-57

The Ethnic Minority Policies of the People's Republic of China: Patronage and Prejudice
Corey Bosely.
Rutgers Race & the Law Review, Volume 8, Number 2, Spring 2007, p.291

Ethnic Minorities and the Challenge of Police Recruitment
Ian Waters, Nick Hardy, Domonique Delgado and Simone Dahlmann.
Police Journal, Volume 80, Number 3, 2007, p.191

Drug Trafficking and Ethnic Minorities in Western Europe
Letizia Paoli and Peter Reuter.
European Journal of Criminology, Volume 5, Number 1, January 2008, p.13-37

Some Recent articles on Indigenous Peoples:

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Flexible Approach to Addressing the Unique Needs of Varying Populations
Viniyanka Prasad.
Chicago Journal of International Law, Volume 9, Number 1, Summer 2008, p.297

LEGAL MEANS FOR PROTECTING THE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN A POST-COLONIAL WORLD
Jessica Myers Moran.
Holy Cross Journal of Law and Public Policy, Volume 12, Number 1, 2008, p.71

Indigenous Peoples' Courts: Egalitarian Juridical Pluralism, Self-Determination, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Christopher J. Fromherz.
University of Pennsylvania Law Review, Volume 156, Number 5, May 2008, p.1341

Wade David on endangered cultures: a TED Talk

Wade Davis talks about the disappearance of indigenous cultures at TED:

Argentina using DNA testing to identify the "Disappeared".

From the Guardian:



http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/24/argentina.genetics

Argentina is appealing to relatives of the "Disappeared" from the time of the "Dirty War" to give blood samples to be used in identifying 600+ human remains.

21 March is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Link to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights page:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/events/racism/

and to the Dag Hammarskjold Library page:
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/racial

UNDG Guidelines on Indigenous Peoples Issues

From the February 2008 UN OHCHR Update on Minority Issues

"The United Nations Development Group approved Guidelines on Indigenous
Peoples' Issues on 1 February 2008. The Guidelines are designed to
assist UN Country Teams integrate indigenous peoples' issues into
country policies and programmes. The Guidelines were drafted by a group
on UN organizations and specialized agencies under the aegis of the
Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples'Issues."

The text is available at:

http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/indigenous/docs/guidelines.pdf

10 anniversary of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages

On March 11, the Council of Europe opened a Conference on the 10th anniversary of the
entry into force of the Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages. The program of the conference is here:
http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/minorities/1._GENERAL_PRESENTATION/
PDF_Programme%20conference%20%20E%20080305.pdf

Further information is here on the website of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention:

http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/Minorities/

The website for the COE Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is located here:
http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/Default_en.asp

Response of CERD to US Reports on treatment of Indigenous Peoples by USA

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has issued
it's report on the review of the reports of the USA on the treatment
of indigenous peoples within the US and it's territories. The report
criticizes the US on several issues; lack of consultation with
indigenous groups, interpretation of "racial discrimination"; physical
violence against indigenous women; and treatment of sacred sites, etc. It
refers to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as a doc
the US needs to use as a guideline.

The report is here:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/co/CERD-C-USA-CO-6.pdf

A consolidated Shadow Report by US indigenous groups is available here:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ngos/usa/USHRN8.doc

and the International Indian Treaty Council has issued a press release here:
http://www.treatycouncil.org/PDFs/PressReleaseCERDfinal30808%20_2_.pdf