Introduction In  its Helsinki Decision of July 1992, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) established the position of High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) to be an instrument of conflict prevention at the earliest possible stage in regard to tensions involving national minority issues. During the past 20 years, the three successive High Commissioners have encountered a number of recurring issues in their work. In response, they have published six thematic Recommendations and Guidelines providing insight and advice for States facing the same issues. The first three – The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities, The Oslo Recommendations Regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities and The Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life – are primarily concerned with enhancing and elaborating minority-rights standards in the areas of education, language and participation in public life. The subsequent two publications – Guidelines on the use of Minority Languages in the Broadcast Media and Recommendations on Policing in Multi-Ethnic Societies – address specific challenges that many States face in providing effective policing in ethnically diverse societies and in ensuring minorities’ access to broadcast media in their language. The most recent set of Recommendations – The Bolzano/Bozen Recommendations on National Minorities in Inter-State Relations – address the conditions and limitations within which States may support minorities residing in other countries. All the issues covered by these publications are directly related to the High Commissioners’ efforts to reduce tensions and prevent inter-ethnic conflicts. The HCNM’s experience indicates that diversity alone is neither correlated nor causally linked with an increase in tensions and violence. None of the numerous ethnic conflicts that have erupted in post-Cold War Europe have been inevitable. They are a consequence of political choices that could have been different. Such conflicts are frequently rooted in the denial of basic rights and in the systematic and/or systemic exclusion and alienation of entire communities. This is why the protection of human rights, including minority rights, is inextricably linked with the preservation of peace and stability within and between States. States are obliged to guarantee equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of whether 2 Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies