How does the UN defend vulnerable groups in society?
The UN is an advocate for society’s most vulnerable groups – minorities, migrant workers, refugees, indigenous people and children in especially difficult circumstances – and works to better their plight. International treaties, such as the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1990 Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and their Families, have been negotiated through the UN to protect vulnerable groups. Various UN mechanisms monitor compliance by States with obligations enshrined in human rights conventions on the rights of vulnerable groups, and hold countries accountable for violations. The UN also conducts international campaigns to raise global awareness of the problems affecting vulnerable groups. On behalf of the world’s 300 million indigenous people, the UN launched the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People (1993) and the ongoing International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People (1994-2004), and is negotiating a declara
