gateway to the full enjoyment of a wide array of other rights, without which individuals and societies remain economically, socially and culturally impoverished. The Independent Expert emphasized that ensuring equal access to education is one of the most serious challenges for minorities and States alike. She also explained that equal access to education must be understood in the holistic sense of the rights to nondiscrimination and equality. Disproportionate educational outcomes along racial, ethnic or religious lines must be considered evidence of discrimination that implicates state responsibility for the promotion and protection of these rights. The Independent Expert indicated that the Forum will seek to provide concrete and tangible outcomes in the form of thematic recommendations of practical value to all stakeholders. Remarks by the Chairperson of the Forum on Minority Issues, Ms Viktória Mohácsi, Member of European Parliament The Chairperson of the Forum stated that history has shown that acceptance of legitimate expectations of minorities have strengthened legitimacy of states. While the existence of the Forum on Minority Issues is a great achievement - as a platform for minorities at the highest level, with all stakeholders being able to discuss relevant issues, the task ahead is challenging. She stressed that the work of Forum will successfully complement the mandate of the Independent Expert. As to the thematic focus of the forum “Minorities and the Right to Education”, the Chairperson highlighted the necessity for States to implement the principle of equality and non-discrimination. She put specific emphasis on the following issues: resources for admission of minority pupils into schools, training of teachers from minority communities, access to education, education in the mother tongue. The Chairperson also pointed out that it is not only the issue of minority language education and issues related to this area that are of importance for the Forum, but also the issue of the violation of the right to education that emerges in segregated education, as in many European states and elsewhere this causes the emergence of disadvantaged situations in education. The launch of desegregation processes is crucial in all countries where the phenomenon of the violation of the right to education has been identified. As a pre-condition, the Chairperson emphasized the importance of the legal recognition of minorities at the national level. She underlined that the task for all participants in this Forum was to identify best practices and action-oriented recommendations. Remarks by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanethem Pillay In her statement, the High Commissioner for Human Rights underlined that these two days offered a unique opportunity to discuss recommendations on minorities and the right to education, and she expressed the hope that the contents of the final recommendations will serve as a practical and useful tool which will be used by all 3