A/56/258 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 1 August 2001 Original: English Fifty-sixth session Item 131 (b) of the provisional agenda* Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities Report of the Secretary-General** I. Introduction 1. The General Assembly, in its resolution 54/162 entitled “Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities”,1 inter alia, called upon the Secretary-General to make available, at the request of Governments concerned, qualified expertise on minority issues, including the prevention and resolution of disputes, to assist in existing or potential situations involving minorities; requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue efforts to improve the coordination and cooperation among United Nations programmes and agencies on activities related to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities and to take the work of relevant regional organizations active in the field of human rights into account in her endeavours; called upon the High Commissioner to resume inter-agency consultations * A/56/150. ** In accordance with General Assembly resolution 55/222, part III, para. 10, this report is being submitted on 1 August 2001 so as to include as much updated information as possible. 01-48177 (E) 130901 *0148177* with United Nations programmes and agencies on minority issues and urged those programmes and agencies to contribute actively to this process; called upon the Working Group on Minorities of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the Commission on Human Rights to implement further its mandate with the involvement of a wide range of participants; invited the High Commissioner to seek voluntary contributions to facilitate the effective participation of nongovernmental organizations and persons belonging to minorities, in particular those from developing countries; and requested the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of resolution 54/162, including on good practices in the fields of education and the effective participation of minorities in decision-making processes. The present report is submitted in compliance with the aforementioned request.