to bring as many political actors as possible, he expressed hopes that their all-embracing levels of experience would feed into the discussions and ultimately be reflected in the recommendations presented by the Independent Expert to the Human Rights Council in March 2010. Finally, the President of the Human Rights Council underlined that this Forum can build on its achievements, taking full advantage of the variety of stakeholders present, and strive to forge an inter-active and productive dialogue, which will hopefully continue beyond these two days and contribute to a better understanding of “meaningful and effective political participation of minorities” and of the existing standards and principles, striving for an improved inter-cultural approach to political participation based on the sharing of good practices. On behalf of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the director of the Research and Right to Development Division at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Marcia Kran, gave the opening remarks in which she underlined that the Forum provides a unique venue for promoting dialogue and cooperation to support the implementation of minority rights, in line with the 1992 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. She noted that the importance of combating discrimination is a thematic priority for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. In addition to supporting the work of this Forum, the OHCHR is committed to stepping up its awareness-raising and training activities on the implementation of the Declaration and pursuing focused activities on key themes, including regional consultations on Good Practices in Policing and Minority Communities and the OHCHR Minorities Fellowship Programme. Moreover, through the leading role the OHCHR plays in the Inter-Agency Group on Minorities, it fosters international cooperation on minority issues between the United Nations agencies in order to ensure that they all contribute to the realization of the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The discussions of the Forum further contribute to consolidating these common efforts towards the protection of minorities worldwide. The independent expert on minority issues, Ms. Gay McDougall, reminded all participants that the aims and objectives of the Forum shall be to: 1. provide a platform for dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities; 2. provide thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the independent expert on minority issues; 3. identify and analyse best practices, challenges, opportunities and initiatives for the further implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Minorities; 4. produce thematic recommendations to be reported to the Human Rights Council ; and 5. contribute to efforts to improve cooperation among UN mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, funds and programmes on activities related to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities, including at the regional level. She explained the format of the discussions underlining that all interventions during the discussion period should be focused on the draft recommendations and the identification of challenges and problems facing minorities and States, good practices and the consideration of opportunities, initiatives and solutions. 3