"Land grabbing" in Africa: An emerging legal framework highlights a lack of accountability for the UK's role in the violation of land rights

20 January 2015

Last month, in honour of Human Rights Day on the 8th of December, the London law firm Leigh Day hosted an event entitled "'Land Grabs,' Human Rights, and the UK." Rebecca Marlin, MRG's legal Fellow, reports back.

"The event was well-attended and fostered a stimulating discussion of the very important issue of "land grabbing", a term used to describe the seizure of land belonging to or inhabited by indigenous people, farmers, and those living in informal urban settlements, by governments and non-state actors for commercial exploitation."
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Pakistan's religious minorities 'face acute levels of persecution', warns new report

9 December 2014

The persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan has intensified in recent years and has now reached critical levels, according to a major new report released by Minority Rights Group International (MRG) today.

Despite some recent signs of progress in Pakistan, including the first democratic transition of power in May 2013, religious communities such as Ahmadis, Christians and Hindus live in daily fear of harassment and intimidation. Escalating violence against Shi'a Muslims also points to the growth of an even more exclusionary form of nationalism based on a very specific understanding of 'Muslimness'. Read more...

New online map shows Middle East, Africa states dominate Peoples under Threat 2014 survey on risk of mass killing

Peoples under Threat is Minority Rights Group’s annual authoritative rankings table which highlights those countries around the world where the risk of mass killing is greatest. As an early warning tool, the index has been widely used by UN officials and other human rights and conflict prevention practitioners. For the first time it's now been made available as an online map. Read more...