referred to the many situations of exclusion and discrimination in this respect. He underlined the necessity for the implementation of the right to education and reminded participants of the “4 As” formulation, as delineated by his predecessor: Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Adaptability. The Special Rapporteur called for models of education which would respond to the diversity of the human society, while underlining that education cannot resolve problems if there is no political will. Patrick Thornberry, Rapporteur of the Forum on Minority Issues and Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination In his address, Professor Thornberry highlighted that education has always been and continues to be one of the most strongly contested issues in the field of minority rights. He recalled that the general principles in the field of education and human rights have been advanced at the global level through a number of instruments including, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Professor Thornberry recalled that in the specific field of minorities, there has been an expansion of the essential principles of equality and non-discrimination in the enjoyment of human rights to embrace a distinctive corpus of minority rights. The UN Declaration on Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities includes the crucial components of education and language. The dominant themes in the texts on minorities are rights to existence and identity, and participation in securing lives and futures. These themes are reflected in the “Draft recommendations on Minorities and the Right to Education” 3, which are an attempt to elaborate and structure the relevant norms, build on good practice and suggest modalities of implementation in a clarifying manner: a practical programme. Professor Thornberry, introducing the Draft Recommendations, highlighted key points therein: 1. Education is a human right and must be implemented in a human rights-friendly manner. The point is made that education can also be employed with negative impact upon minorities, and such impacts must be avoided. 2. Education is of systemic importance for the enjoyment of other human rights. 3. Equality and non-discrimination are governing principles in the context of minorities and indigenous peoples. 4. Participation rights are underscored with repetitive emphasis. 5. The need for data on minorities is highlighted. Formulae are difficult in view of widespread sensitivities about data collection in the ethnic field. 6. The recommendations are not far off in substance from the “4As” formulation (Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability and Adaptability) employed by the Special Rapporteur on Education and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 3 The text of the “Draft Recommendations on Minorities and the Right to Education” is available on the Forum’s web site at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/minority/forum.htm 5