A/HRC/28/77 I. Introduction 1. In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 19/23, the present document contains the recommendations of the Forum on Minority Issues. The seventh session was held on 25 and 26 November 2014 and considered the theme of “Preventing and addressing violence and atrocity crimes targeted against minorities”. The work of the Forum was guided by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsák. The Chair of the session was Patrick Thornberry of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Some 570 participants attended, including representatives of Member States and numerous representatives of minority communities, non-governmental organizations, United Nations specialized agencies, regional and intergovernmental bodies and national human rights institutions. 2. The recommendations contained in the present document are based primarily on the provisions of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The Declaration sets out the fundamental international human rights standards pertaining to the promotion and protection of minorities and recognizes that minority rights protection contributes to political and social stability and the strengthening of friendship and cooperation among peoples and States. The recommendations are also based on other existing international and regional human rights standards, principles and guidelines relevant to the promotion and protection of minority rights, including the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The jurisprudence and general comments of different United Nations treaty bodies and relevant reports and recommendations from special procedures mandate holders, including the work of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, also informed the recommendations. 3. The recommendations take into account the principle of responsibility to protect and the three pillars of that principle, notably: the State carries the primary responsibility for protecting its populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity and from incitement to those crimes; the international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist States in fulfilling that responsibility; and the international community has the responsibility to use appropriate diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means to help to protect populations from atrocity crimes, as stipulated in the 2005 World Summit Outcome (General Assembly resolution 60/1). 4. The range of issues covered by the recommendations is not exhaustive. They are action-oriented for use by a wide range of stakeholders to improve prevention and better respond to violence targeted against minorities. It is hoped that the recommendations will be interpreted in a constructive manner, in the light of binding human rights obligations, and in a spirit of cooperation and open dialogue, and that they will be used to make appropriate and informed choices when addressing and responding to violent situations affecting minorities. 5. The recommendations are phrased in broad terms and seek to be implemented in countries with diverse political, religious, historical and cultural backgrounds, with full respect for universal human rights standards. A great variety of country and minority situations exist and consequently, different measures may be required to prevent and address violence and atrocity crimes targeted against minority groups within a given State. Implementation of recommendations should be monitored and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure that they achieve the required objectives. The Forum has consistently emphasized that homogeneous solutions to different challenges are generally neither possible nor desirable, and that the recommendations should therefore be used with that in mind. The duty of States to protect their populations from violence and atrocity crimes, irrespective of national, ethnic, religious, linguistic or other identity, transcends any specific State ideology, 3