The Human Rights Council resolution 6/15 of 28 September 2007, renewed by resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012, established the Forum on Minority Issues as a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as well as thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues.
The Forum meets annually for two working days. Last edition was hold in Geneva on 1st and 2nd December 2022. Since 2019 there are also Regional Forums to strengthen links with regional organisations to contribute to the work of the Special Rapporteur.The Special Rapporteur on minority issues guides the work of the Forum, prepares its annual meetings and reports on the thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Human Rights Council. The President of the Human Rights Council appoints a Forum chairperson for each session. The chairperson is chosen from experts on minority issues, on the basis of regional rotation, and in consultation with regional groups. Professor Daniel Abwa was appointed as Chair of this session, which focused on the theme: “Review. Rethink. Reform. 30th Anniversary of the UN Declaration on Minority Rights”.
To promote the participation of civil society in the Forum of Minority Issues, consultative status is not required. Sine Qua Non, in its role of promoting the participation of civil society organisations and accompanying them in their access to international human rights mechanisms, encouraged civil society organisations to participate in the debate with relevant contributions, and supported and accompanied some of them in their participation in this Forum.
On his concluding intervention, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Mr. Fernand de Varennes pointed out that not enough was being done at the international level, and that minorities are the last major group at the United Nations with no specific mechanism or protection for their Human Rights. He also ponted out that the regional Forums, that increase accessibility and visibility for many minorities, have no guarantee that they will be continuing after his tenure comes to an end later next year.
He also stressed that the most emphatic recommendation it’s the need for a legally binding treaty on minority rights with an associated oversight mechanism which would guide both states and non-state actors. For minorities, this tool, elaborated with their equal participation, would give a chance to engage with the United Nations and States, not only as victims of Human Rights violations but as responsible agents in the making of norms that govern their lives.
He emphasized that it is necessary a permanent forum, which would alternate between New York and Geneva, rather than less than a two-day Forum, together with regional forums and financial support to ensure greater accessibility for minorities in all parts of the world.
He stressed that citizenship rights without discrimination; economic rights including land; and a focus on sustainable and inclusive development of minority regions while protecting the natural environment need to be addressed in the future. It also have to be addressed the right to participation in policymaking and in decision-making, which needs to reflect the existing state practice regarding norms of autonomy, as well as the rights of religious minorities.
He reminded the urgent need to mainstream in the United Nations the structures and activities specifically to those of marginalized minorities and the section within these minorities which are particularly vulnerable to abuse such as in the case of the intersection of the rights of women and disabled within those minority communities.
Know more
The Forum on Minority Issues
https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrc-subsidiary-bodies/minority-issues-forum
The 15th session of the Forum
https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/forums/2022/fifteenth-session-forum-minority-issues
The report on the 15th session of the forum
https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G22/620/04/PDF/G2262004.pdf?OpenElement
December 2022