OPENING REMARKS Mr Joshua Castellino, Chair of the eighth session of the Forum on Minority Issues 1. Excellencies, Distinguished colleagues and experts, Representatives of civil society, Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to offer a few thoughts on the challenges faced by minorities within the criminal justice system. 2. We meet at a critical time, in the battle for peace, security, and human rights. The events of the last few years have made multitudes among us, extremely insecure, leaving trails of victims all over the world in Ankara, Bamako, Beirut, Nairobi, Kobane, Mumbai, Lahore and Paris. Unlike the scourge of Ebola that wiped out communities in the last years, and the threat of climate change, that is impending for future generations, there is a belief, that perpetrators of the kind of violence we have seen, can be tackled through strong policing and security measures, with an accompanying criminal justice system. 3. There is unanimity, in the need for criminal justice systems to be robust and fair, as a means to punish criminals, and those who threaten the lives and livelihoods of all. Such systems, when well designed generate order and security, provide guarantees to society that perpetrators of crime will be punished, and understand the need for the rehabilitation of offenders. The best criminal justice systems are coherent in design and organization, are built on fundamental principles of non-discrimination and fairness, with a clear motivation to protect the inherent dignity and worth of all: victims, witnesses, perpetrators, and various stakeholders in the system. The best criminal justice systems pay heed to the need for alternatives to incarceration, and seek active rehabilitation for perpetrators of crime, while serving to reassure victims that impunity will not be tolerated, even when crimes are committed by the powerful. 4. All the religions and cultures, well represented in the rich collection of diversity in this room, share a common belief in the importance of objectivity in the framing and dispensation justice. It is not by accident that principles such the equality of all before the law, or that no one ought to be above the law, are consistent threads in States across the globe. Among the commonalities we share is also a belief that justice systems need to be blind to the personal identity of those that come before them. They serve the dual purpose of reassuring residents that they can live their lives unmolested by its apparatus, while acting as a deterrent to those considering engaging in criminal activities, to prevent actions that violate the rights and freedoms of all. 5. Yet, despite the existence of these universal principles and beliefs, often well represented in our laws, reports consistently show that minority communities across the world, tend to reflect poorly in the criminal justice mechanisms they are subject to. In a majority of States,