“Preventing and addressing violence and atrocity crimes targeted against minorities” Contribution of the United Nations Network on Racial discrimination and Protection of Minorities to the Seventh session of the Forum on minority issues (25-26 November 2014) 1. The United Nations recognizes that effort to promote and protect the rights of minorities must be multidimensional and engage the entire System. With this in mind, the Secretary General established in 2012 the United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, which aims to stimulate cooperation and to enhance the impact and coordination of the work of the UN system in the field of racial discrimination and protection of minorities, both at headquarters and in the field. The Network brings together over 20 UN entities, ranging from those dealing with development and humanitarian issues to entities focusing on peace and security issues. 2. One of the first undertakings of the Network was the development of a Guidance Note on Racial Discrimination and Minorities, which was endorsed in 2013 by the Secretary General. It provides guidance for the entire UN System, highlighting key principles and suggesting ways to incorporate work to combat racial discrimination and advance minority rights in the work of the UN. The Network is currently working to support the implementation of the Guidance Note and its 19 recommendations, and earlier this year it endorsed a four-year action plan with concrete action points and clear time frame for their implementation. 3. The Guidance Note highlights the importance of taking further action to advance the rights of minorities, including by encouraging constructive management of diversity to address identity-based tensions, as well as culturally attuned preventive measures focusing on the most important risk factors. Discrimination is often at the root of identity-related tensions. Such tensions have a potential to develop into crises that could ultimately lead to conflict, forced displacement and, in the worst cases, to atrocity crimes, including genocide. 4. One of the action points calls for intensifying system-wide interaction with mechanisms such as the Forum on Minority Issues, and this first-ever intervention made on behalf of the Network at