• Prevention of violence against religious minorities: Challenges and Prospects. Remarks by Mr.Adatna Dieng, the United Nations Under-Secretary General, and the UN Secretary General Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide .delivered on the occasion of the Sixth • Session of the Forum on Minority Issues, November, 26-27, 2013, Geneva, Switzerland. Madam Chairperson, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen, Dear Friends,  At the outset, I would like to express my profound appreciation to the Independent Expert on Minority issues, Rita Izsak, for convening this important event. It is because of her extraordinary leadership and commitment, that we witness an ongoing momentum on the part of the international. community to address challenges facing minorities, I would also like to thank minority groups' representativs, member,states, civil society, intergovernmental organizations as well as academics and experts from all over the world who, despite their pressing commitments, have made time to come to Geneva and participate in this forum, your participation demonstrates the importance and commitment you attach to minority issues. My brief remarks will focus on the link between the prevention of atrocity crimes and the protection of religious rights for minorities. More specifically, I would like to highlight how the concept of the responsibility to protect applies and enhances the protection of minorities, As most of us know, in 2005, at the World Sununit, the. UN member states made a commits to prated their populations from atrocity crimes. In this Declaration, states acknowledged and reaffixmed responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity' as well as from their incitement. In fact the word 'populations' should be understood to refer to all people living within a state's territory, including its national, ethnic,