This Forum will play an important part, by helping us to understand the nature of these crimes, their root causes and inherent dynamics. Gaining a better such understanding will enable us to detect the early warning signs and improve our prevention strategies. The protection of minority rights plays an important part in achieving peace and security. It reduces conflict levels and supports post-conflict reconciliation. It is also a crucial way of achieving development for the poorest and most vulnerable. Minority rights are a vital component of all three pillars of the United Nations: peace, development and human rights. They require the systematic and coordinated engagement of every part of the UN system. This interdependence is at the heart of the Human Rights Up Front initiative, which calls for a system-wide effort to prevent and respond to serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The protection of human rights must be front and centre of the UN’s work. 3