Human Rights Council 4th Session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues 29-30 November 2011 Item 7, Concrete Steps Aimed at Guaranteeing the Rights of Minority Women Statement by Minority Rights Group International Thank you Madam Chair Minority Rights Group welcomes the comprehensive draft recommendations and we have a few concrete suggestions for strengthening them, There is a balance to maintain between the right of minorities and of minority women to protect their cultural identity and the right of minority women to be free from discriminatory or harmful practices. MRG believes the recommendations could be more nuanced in order to better reflect that balance. Recommendation 23 rightly reminds Governments that violence against women happens in all communities and highlights that principles of equality mean that minority women have an equal fight to protection from violence as