Excellencies,    President of the Human Rights Council (tbc), High Commissioner for Human Rights (tbc), Chair of the Forum on Minority Issues, Special Rapporteur, Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, It is an honor to be here and to speak on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the ninth Forum on Minority Issues. The focus this year on humanitarian crises and the legal and moral obligation to pay specific attention to the promotion and protection of human rights of minorities is, unfortunately, very timely. At UNDP, with our development mandate and presence in some 170 countries and territories, translating human rights standards into reality for all people is central to our work - in humanitarian, fragile, post-conflict, and developing contexts. Many of today's crises are becoming increasingly protracted, creating a holding pattern of prolonged vulnerability, leaving millions to suffering and continued instability, and continued, and in many cases even exacerbated discrimination. As was widely discussed during the World Humanitarian Summit, the-se complex challenges can only be addressed by strengthening the humanitariandevelopment-peace nexus and, importantly, throughout them all, also human rights. Many actors operate in this shared space, under different frameworks, but they all share an interest in addressing vulnerabilities and discrimination. The 2030 Agenda have the potential to transform both development cooperation and humanitarian action. It was adopted by all Member States, is universal and 2