deprivation of citizenship, used against minorities as a means to keep them from enjoying their civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education of minority children. Her mandate complements and enhances the work of other special procedures mechanisms that also address minority rights from other thematic perspectives. The ongoing cooperation between the Special procedures and the Treaty Bodies illustrates the complementarities of different human rights mechanisms in the protection and promotion of human rights. International human rights treaties include provisions on the human rights of minorities and all have norms related to the principle of equal treatment of human beings in law and in fact. Yet despite the numerous provisions in international instruments referring to the right to education for all, a large part of the world's population still remains excluded. In my recent address at the International Conference held on 25 November 2008 which was organized by UNESCO on "Inclusive Education”, I urged all authorities and institutions to take concrete steps in the area of inclusive education, as an indispensible precondition to the realization of human rights. Persons belonging to national, ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities disproportionately suffer the brunt of educational exclusion. Allow me to bring to your attention the distinct challenges that minorities have to confront as groups least integrated into national education systems. Their levels of access to adequate education services are well below national averages. Members of minority groups all over the world face several barriers in accessing education equally, including a lack of mother-tongue education; poor provision of schools and qualified teachers in the regions where they live; prohibitive costs of school fees that disproportionately affect them as the poorest groups; and curricula that do not reflect community priorities for learning; and discrimination by teachers and/or pupils. Distinguished Participants, The implementation of international human rights instruments also requires that we find appropriate channels for the protection and promotion of human rights at national and local levels. Whatever we do in Geneva or New York, and this should certainly not be undervalued, it has to be accompanied by the development of strong capacities at the national level. We must reach out to important partners at this level, including national institutions, national NGOs and civil society. This year, as we celebrate the 60 years of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and fifteen years of the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, let me express my hope to join forces in taking steps to turn the principles and norms consecrated in those documents into reality. Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for your determination and commitment in the promotion and protection of human rights. We must ensure that our