Governments sometimes claim that violence against ethnic or religious minorities is deeply embedded in their national culture – and is therefore difficult to control or stop.

However, said Diane Ala’i of the Baha’i International Community, there is a simple test for whether governments are living up to their obligations to protect minorities: “Are perpetrators of acts of violence prosecuted?”

Speaking at the Seventh Session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues, held 25-26 November 2014, Ms. Ala’i said one of the root causes of violence against minorities is the idea of “otherness.”

“This 'otherness' very often stems from ignorance, so we do not only see the 'other' as separate from us, but the mere thought of it also raises suspicion.  It thus becomes a breeding ground for spreading lies and creating myths.”

And, accordingly, states sometimes “claim that the otherness, and the violent acts that ensue from it, are not in their hands, despite their efforts to oppose it.”

Ms. Ala’i said there is a “very easy and clear measuring tool” as to whether this is true: does the government identify and prosecute those who attack minorities.

“If it fails to do so, then the state should be held equally as responsible as the perpetrators themselves,” said Ms. Ala’i, who is the Baha’i International Community’s representative to the UN in Geneva.

This is particularly true when a government itself is involved in inciting hatred or creating official policies that discriminate against minorities.

Ms. Ala’i cited in particular the example of Iran and its state-sponsored persecution of Baha’is, where, among other things, schoolteachers are allowed to discriminate against and ridicule Baha’i children, young Baha’is are prevented from entering university, and state-run media spread false and hateful propaganda against Baha’is.

“The 'otherness' takes a special dimension when it is actually promoted by a government, when whatever means are available to a particular government are used to ostracize a minority,” said Ms. Ala’i.

Other speakers at this year’s Forum included UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson; Astrid Thors, High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); Antti Korkeakivi of the UN Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities; Anastasia Crickley of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

The Forum was organized by Rita Izsák, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues.

Mr. Eliasson said the problem of violence against minorities has become particularly acute this year with the “unfolding tragedy in Iraq and Syria where Christians, Turkmens, Yazidis and other minorities have been targeted for the most brutal atrocities.”

“It is the duty of the international community to draw lessons from these horrific events,” said Mr. Eliasson. “We must prevent them from being repeated.”

Ms. Izsák, in her annual report on the issue, suggested a number of measures that could be instituted to stem violence against ethnic and religious minorities.

Among other things, she said, “mechanisms to ensure dialogue, consultation and participation, the fundamental principles of minority rights, should be established to assist states in understanding the situations of minorities, their issues and concerns.” She also said governments should fully implement the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

“The comprehensive implementation of minority rights, non-discrimination and equality standards constitutes an important foundation for the prevention of violence against minority communities and helps to establish the conditions for stability and harmonious relations among population groups,” said Ms. Izsák.