Forum on Minority Issues Geneva, 24th and 25th November 2015 Speech by Francis Kpatindé (Wednesday 25 November 2015) Thank you for inviting me to this Forum on discriminated minorities. Probably because of my own professional background, I have chosen to talk about the relations between the media and minorities, and to sketch out possible solutions for how the media can contribute to a more equitable access to justice for minorities. Not infrequently do we hear about a “cordial discord” between minorities and the media. In my opinion this disagreement is the result of a misunderstanding. Indeed, the media and minorities need each other. On the one hand, the situation of various minorities remains largely underexplored and is an endless source for investigation and media broadcasts. On the other hand, ethnic, racial, and linguistic minorities need their cause to be known by as many people as possible. In this respect, the media are an extraordinary tool. When talking about whole and full access to justice for minorities it is difficult to avoid the media, the vehicle for mass culture. The image of minorities is also conveyed through the media . It is hence in the common interest of media and minorities to get along as their destinies are tied to each other. As a matter of fact, journalists reporting on minorities are not always malicious. Very often, the media do not know these minorities. They don’t know their history, their ambitions, the