A/HRC/49/46 Annex II Conflict prevention through the protection of the human rights of minorities: sample questionnaire and list of contributors A. Sample questionnaire Call for submissions by 6 December 2021 In accordance with his mandate pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 34/6, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Dr Fernand de Varennes, will present a thematic report at the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, which will provide a detailed analysis and highlight the issue of “Conflict prevention through the protection of the human rights of minorities”. Building on the work carried out by other UN, international and regional organisations, the Special Rapporteur will address the relationship between the prevention of violent conflicts through the protection of the human rights of minorities, in order to achieve stable and just societies, which are central to the implementation of the principles of equal human rights and dignity for all contained in human rights treaties and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The report will also contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular with regard to ensuring that all human beings are able to fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment, and the commitment to foster peaceful, just and inclusive societies which are free from fear and violence, leaving no-one behind. Context The interrelationship between conflicts, the rights of minorities, and the promotion of inclusiveness and stability constitutes one of the thematic priorities of the Special Rapporteur. Conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities is a topical and urgent issue. As the groundbreaking 2018 UN and World Bank joint study on ‘Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict’ points out, the main drivers of instability globally are group-based grievances around exclusion and injustice. To be more precise, the root causes of most of today’s violent conflicts all usually intimately linked to breaches of the human rights of minority communities. In previous reports, the mandate has addressed the human rights of minorities in situations of humanitarian crises brought about by natural or man-made hazards (see A/71/254) as well as the role of the protection of minority rights in promoting stability and conflict prevention (see A/HRC/16/45). Among other points, these reports stressed that among the essential elements of a strategy to prevent conflicts involving minorities are respect for minority rights, particularly with regard to equality in access to economic and social opportunities; effective participation of minorities in decision-making; dialogue between minorities and majorities within societies; and the constructive development of practices and institutional arrangements to accommodate diversity within society. Despite increasing understanding of the interlinkages between conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities, new conflicts involving minorities continue to emerge in many different parts of the world. Recent reports suggest that they are increasing, and that there is too little attention from international, national and other actors to the minority contexts and grievances, and denial of their human rights, which are amongst the top early warning signs of impending violence. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that a fresh look at these issues is necessary to give a new impetus to a human rights system when it comes effective early warning mechanisms for most of the world’s intrastate conflicts, through the protection of minorities. 26