A/58/255 13. At the ninth session of the Working Group, in May 2003, many representatives of non-governmental organizations drew attention to the importance of governmental compliance not only with the Declaration on Minorities but also with the main human rights treaties to which States were parties. Representatives of nongovernmental organizations also made reference to the contents of concluding observations and the need for follow-up to the recommendations they contained, when of relevance to the rights of minorities and where particular Governments had reported under human rights treaties. In their interventions, minority participants sought international support to take action, particularly when the situations they were describing were serious and called for an urgent response. Many also requested action to promote the practical realization of the rights of minorities, including through longer-term solutions to minority problems and the prevention of further violations of minority rights. In this regard, the Working Group reiterated the need to share information with special procedures already in existence, with treaty bodies or with regional mechanisms. 14. The United Nations Guide for Minorities was published in 2001 to implement the recommendations of the Working Group and the Commission on Human Rights. It was launched by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at an international seminar on cooperation for the better protection of the rights of minorities in September 2001. International and regional organizations actively cooperated in preparing the leaflets of the Guide, and the English version can also be found at the web site of the Office of the High Commissioner at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/racism/01-minoritiesguide.html. In early 2002, the Guide was published in other five United Nations languages and widely distributed. It provides minorities with a comprehensive and useful tool on international standards relating to minority rights protection and practical guidance on how to utilize these mechanisms. The Office of the High Commissioner is taking steps to encourage the translation of the Guide into minority languages, thereby increasing its accessibility. 15. The Working Group on Minorities undertook its first country visit to Mauritius from 8 to 10 September 2001, at the invitation of the Government of Mauritius. The objective of the visit was to draw lessons from the experiences of Mauritius with regard to good practices of group accommodation in multicultural society, as well as to explore integrative and autonomous approaches and practices with respect to minority protection, in particular on Rodrigues Island. Following the visit, the Working Group made suggestions and recommendations concerning such issues as the inclusion of the historical and cultural information relating to all communities in school curricula and text books, and the development of further measures to improve the provision of primary schooling in marginalized regions. The Working Group also invited the future local government of the autonomous region of Rodrigues to exercise caution in the elaboration of development projects so as to preserve, respect and develop the island community’s cultural identity. The full report of the country mission is contained in document E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.5/2002/2. 16. The Working Group reiterated its readiness to remain available for country visits to countries where minority situations existed, at the general or specific invitations of Governments concerned. At the ninth session of the Working Group, in May 2003, the Government of Finland issued an official invitation to the Working Group to conduct a country visit to Finland in the course of 2003 with a view to developing the protection of minority rights and make the issue more visible. The Government of Switzerland also made such an offer to the Working Group. 7