National Statement of Pakistan, delivered by Danyal Hasnain, Third Secretary, at the 15th Session of the Forum on Minority Issues on 1st December 2022 Theme: Review. Rethink. Reform. Mr. Chair, Pakistan welcomes this year’s theme for the forum. The 30th anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of minorities is an occasion to review where we stand. A normative framework anchored in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration on human rights, subsequent international conventions, the human rights council, and the treaty bodies provide essential scaffolding for protecting minority rights. Still, minorities continue to face old and new forms of discrimination. In some places, violations of minority rights continue with impunity. We notice a regression in protection measures even in democratic politics. Minorities face growing xenophobia, and hate campaigns based on disinformation resulting in violence. In places, authorities are complicit in abetting institutional discrimination, and are complicit in the targeting of minorities based on dress, language, and religion. Some are promulgating laws that deprive minorities of citizenship and changing demographic composition by converting a majority into a minority. Women, children and people with disabilities of minorities, find themselves at the cruel intersection of human rights violations and impunity.