FORUM ON MINORITY ISSUES EIGHTEENTH SESSION “The Contribution of Minorities to Diverse, Resilient, and Peaceful Societies” 27–28 November 2025 Palais des Nations, Geneva SUMMARY BY THE CHAIR OF THE FORUM Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012, the Forum on Minority Issues provides a platform for dialogue and cooperation on matters concerning the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities. It also contributes with thematic expertise to the work of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Prof. Nicolas Levrat and identifies best practices, challenges, and recommendations for the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The Forum meets annually for two days, on a different theme each year. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues is responsible for guiding the work of the Forum, preparing its annual meetings and reporting on its thematic recommendations to the Human Rights Council. The eighteenth session of the Forum was held on 27–28 November 2025 in person at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. H.E. Ms. Caroline Ziadeh, Ambassador of the Permanent Mission of the Lebanese Republic to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, served as Chair of the eighteenth session. This year’s theme focused on: “The Contribution of Minorities to Diverse, Resilient, and Peaceful Societies.” Attendance was the highest in the Forum’s history, with about 980 registered participants from close to 80 countries, including representatives of Member States; United Nations mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies; other intergovernmental organizations; regional organisations and human rights mechanisms; national human rights institutions; academics and experts on minority issues; minority communities; and civil society organizations. In addition to the Forum, 12 side-events addressing different issues were organized by various stakeholders. 1 Interpretation in six official UN languages and in international sign language was provided during the Forum, as well as captioning in English, French and Spanish. The Concept Note, the Agenda of the Forum and the Programme of Work were made available to all Forum participants in advance of the Forum on the webpage of the eighteenth session of the Forum.2 These documents formed the basis for the discussions. 1 See the programme of the side events here: https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/forums/minority-issues/session18/18thforum-minority-issues-programme-side-events.pdf 2 https://www.ohchr.org/en/events/forums/2025/eighteenth-session-forum-minority-issues 1