A/HRC/52/53 epicentre of the clashes, the Regional Office conducted six community sensitization activities, including on three radio talk shows. The Regional Office also collaborated with local leaders and faculty at Gondar University to deliver awareness-raising sessions. Furthermore, the Regional Office carried out advocacy activities in Ethiopia with local authorities and other actors to resolve the root cause of the clash between the Muslim and Orthodox Christian communities. As a result, in August 2022, Gondar City Administration announced a resolution of the dispute, reached through the allocation of separate pieces of land for the Muslims and the Orthodox Christians. The decision involved issuing title certificates for the parts of the land allocated to the Orthodox Christian and Muslim communities. 69. In 2022, the OHCHR human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine noted that the local authorities in the government-controlled territory of Ukraine had temporarily suspended Ukrainian Orthodox Church activities for the duration of the state of martial law in at least seven territorial communities. It also found that “in territory occupied by the Russian Federation or controlled by Russian armed forces or affiliated armed groups, the overall environment for religious minorities remains highly restrictive”. 78 In its concluding observations on Ukraine adopted in November 2021, the Human Rights Committee recommended that the State party guarantee the effective exercise of the right to freedom of religion and belief, including by protecting places of worship against acts of violence, intimidation and vandalism, and strengthen efforts to combat intolerance, stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination against minority groups.79 IV. United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities 70. In January 2022, the United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities hosted a webinar for United Nations agencies on combating racial discrimination and enhancing the protection of minorities in the criminal justice system. The event was spearheaded by UNODC, as the lead of the criminal justice pillar of the network. OHCHR outlined its four-point agenda towards transformative change for racial justice and equality. 71. In May 2022, the intersectionality pillar of the United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities convened a virtual consultation with civil society organizations with a view to preparing the first draft of a guidance note on intersectionality, racial discrimination, and protection of minorities. Inputs received from civil society were used to provide further guidance on intersectional forms of discrimination and good practices at the local level to address such forms of discrimination. The inputs of this consultation meeting were incorporated into the final version of the guidance note. 72. On 27 September 2022, the intersectionality pillar of the network hosted a day of events on intersectionality and marked the launch of the Guidance Note on Intersectionality, Racial Discrimination & Protection of Minorities. The purpose of the guidance note is to encourage an intersectionality perspective in the context of policy development, programming and project implementation and as a means for strengthening the United Nations system’s efforts towards the elimination of racial discrimination and the strengthening of the protection of minorities. It presents examples of how different United Nations entities have relied on intersectionality in their work and puts forward a series of practical recommendations for applying an intersectionality perspective in the United Nations system’s work at the country level. 73. In December 2022, the times-of-crisis pillar of the network organized an event at the University for Peace in Costa Rica to draw attention to issues facing minorities in conflictaffected settings. The event sparked a dialogue among stakeholders, particularly United Nations entities, on future steps. The event was opened by the President of the General Assembly, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and the Special Adviser to the 78 79 GE.22-29200 See https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/countries/ua/2022-09-23/ReportUkraine1Feb-31Jul2022-en.pdf, para. 126. CCPR/C/UKR/CO/8, paras. 16 and 46. 15