- Some minority representatives spoke of the situation of inequity in certain recovery processes linked to disaster. - The notion of burden sharing and the need to develop more predictive systems to face movements of refugees and migrants were raised. - Some religious minorities described the grave situation they face in Iraq and Syria. - Representatives of civil society called on the UN to establish a complaints mechanism for minorities and to achieve greater inclusion of minorities in UNDP programmes. - Some minorities raised the importance of ensuring to returning minorities that the place to which they return is safe and has the necessary infrastructure to allow them to settle again. Ms Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, concluded the session by thanking everyone for their active participation. She shared a few thoughts on the progress and challenges ahead regarding the Forum on minority issues. She recalled that the Minority Forum is a unique platform for disadvantaged, impoverished, and often neglected minority representatives from all over the world to come and have their voices heard, and to offer a reality check regarding whether and how legislation, policies, and international standards that are formulated for better protection of their human and minority rights are functioning in practice. Recognizing that the commentary of minority representatives is in many cases critical of governments and other relevant actors, and that representatives of States and other relevant actors could find this challenging, she urged all participants to uphold a respectful and constructive spirit and continue protecting this open space to freely exchange views even if they are debated. The Special Rapporteur affirmed her view that the Forum’s recommendations had over the years helped deepen international understanding on a number of important and topical areas and provided important contributions to the understanding of international standards and norms including the UN Declaration on Minorities. She thanked the Governments of Austria and Hungary for their generous support since the very beginning to enable the functioning of the Forum and encouraged other States to provide funding and ensure the Forum’s sustainability and progress. She also raised the challenge of ensuring that minorities have effective access to the Forum, and stated that it would be important in the future to give consideration of holding the Minority Forum in different regions so minorities and NGOs who could not afford to travel to Geneva might be able to contribute to the Forum’s deliberations in their respective localities. Mr Mario Yutzis, Chairperson of the ninth session of the Forum on Minority Issues provided final concluding remarks, giving thanks that he had had the opportunity to be the chair of the 9th session of the Forum. He reflected on the current context of globalization, which has a range of implications for everyone in the world, with the potential for very different impacts on different groups. He remarked on how the media allows people to know about issues in the world, even in places distant to them. He acknowledged that humanitarian crises, especially those related to minorities, cannot necessarily be resolved quickly and will require collective effort. In this process, every 13