Agenda Item 4: Practical use of the Declaration Carl Soderbergh, Director of Policy & Communications, Minority Rights Group International Madam Chair, distinguished delegates, thank you for this opportunity to share some civil society good practices regarding the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, shortly before its 20th anniversary next month. The Declaration is central to the work of Minority Rights Group International (MRG) for at least three reasons: Firstly, as the UN text that elaborates on Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Declaration provides essential guidance to the contents of that Article. Secondly, its brevity is important. In a few Articles, the Declaration outlines the principle tenets of minority rights. This makes it particularly accessible for use by grassroots minority rights activists. Thirdly, the fact that the Declaration was adopted by a consensus vote in the UN General Assembly gives it a particular scope. This means that minority representatives in all parts of the world can hold their governments to account. Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly, the Declaration provides a platform for engagement by minority communities and civil society organisations with governments and international agencies. So, how does MRG use the Declaration? In virtually all of our capacity-building training work with minority rights activists, we incorporate at least an introductory session on the Declaration and the meaning of its various Articles. Of course, knowing one’s rights is a first and critical step towards empowerment and making one’s voice heard. In addition, MRG has translated the Declaration into numerous languages, making these versions available for minority rights activists to use in their own communities. We have also supported its translation by a number of partners. As a result, we can now offer the text in 29 languages. Madam Chair, let me now describe how a few of MRG’s partner organisations are using the Declaration in their advocacy work. For this, I draw on a new publication which MRG is launching today, namely Know Your Rights: a Community Guide to the UN Declaration on