Publications

This paper adds a perspective to existing research on child protection by engaging in a debate on intersectional discrimination and its relationship to child protection. The paper has a two-fold objective: (1) to further establish intersectionality as a concept to address discrimination against children; and (2) to illustrate the importance of addressing intersectionality within rights-based programmes of child protection.

The seventh Innocenti Global Seminar, held in Florence in October 1996, brought together participants with a wide range of experiences and perspectives to discuss discrimination against ethnic minorities, immigrants and indigenous peoples and to suggest how their needs can be better accommodated in programming and advocacy. The Report emphasizes participation, education and empowerment and calls for systematic attention to be paid to minority populations in all situation analyses. While it recognizes that the political climate in many countries can make advocacy on behalf of minority groups difficult, it also stresses that the near-universal ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child brings with it an obligation to speak out for the rights of all children, and particularly the most disadvantaged.

The children of an ethnic group, race or religious denomination represent its continuity - they embody a potential for future diversity. This has resulted throughout history in their extreme vulnerability in times of conflict among or involving such groups: they are perceived as the enemies of the future and made prime targets of genocide. Children are also the main victims of less obvious manifestations of ‘everyday’, peacetime discrimination, as infant mortality, infant morbidity and educational attainment data from every part of the world has shown. To investigate ways in which to address these issues, the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre organised a meeting on ‘Discrimination Against Children of Minority Groups and Indigenous Peoples’ in 1994. This publication brings together abridged versions of its main discussion papers.

Though the relationships between ethnic minorities and dominant societies are multi-faceted and complex, the interrelated but distinct dimensions of marginalization and discrimination provide a useful framework for studying minority groups. Poor children the world over are vulnerable to abuses and violence, exploitation and human rights violations. When, in addition, they belong to disadvantaged minorities, their plight warrants special attention and requires special policies. The paper concludes by exploring several areas relating to minority children which call for further research, not only with the aim of developing the most effective policies for improving the situtation of minority children but also in order to contribute to the creation of a world in which cultural diversity can lead to more, rather than less, tolerance and to the equal enjoyment of human rights by all.

Educational rights for minority groups may be included in states' education systems and also enshrined intheir statutes. However, states' laws, their declarations and their educational systems are largely normative statements. For many minority groups, the key issue is whether educational practice actually recognises those legal obligations and aspirations and provides a full, effective and fulfiling education for their young people.

Following the Second World War and particularly after the 1960s, many Western European countries experienced positive immigration. Migrations to each specific country differed in origin and were influenced by the historical ties between the sending and receiving countries, particularly in the case of migrations from ex-colonies. However, international economic conditions and political situations also caused similar migration trends across countries, in particular the "contract work" migrations of the 1960s and the new waves of immigrants from developing countries of the 1970s and 1980s.