the profiling process, building consensus around the results with all stakeholders and making sure sensitive issues are explicitly discussed from the start. Profiling aims to give a voice to various groups affected by a humanitarian crisis and aims at moving away from general assumptions about people’s vulnerabilities, needs, strengths and priorities. She explained how profiling aims at establishing two-way communication with communities by presenting findings and conclusions to them, and receiving their feedback and suggestions. Profiling process should always have such an accountability mechanism, but this is unfortunately rarely prioritized. Finally, while specific data and analysis on minorities in situations of crises is needed, consideration should be given to how it is collected and for what purpose. Data collection in humanitarian contexts should result in actionable information for improved protection and assistance for the populations concerned. People have a right to decide not to identify themselves as members of a minority group, and data collection systems must be implemented in a way that ensures people of different backgrounds have the opportunity to voice their concerns and access assistance on the basis of need, without discrimination. Dr Farah Mihlar, minority rights expert, referred to her personal experience having worked in Sri Lanka in 2009, at the end of the country’s three-decade armed conflict, and posed the question of protection measures for minorities in the event that a humanitarian crisis is caused by attacks against minority populations. She stated that the minority dimension in humanitarian crises is often ignored or denied, due to the nature of the crisis and the urgency for swift response by stakeholders. Dr. Mihlar urged Governments and international agencies to adopt a minority-rights approach to humanitarian crises, taking into account multiple and intersectional forms of discrimination to which minorities may be subjected. She presented a number of examples of multiple discrimination faced by Tamil women in the context of the Sri Lankan armed conflict, including violations of cultural and religious rights. She highlighted that the effects of a humanitarian crisis on minority populations do not cease once the crisis is over, as mental, emotional and physical trauma may remain; she recommended a holistic approach to address such effects. Discussion During the discussion under item IV, the following points were raised by the participants: - the issue of forced displacement due to environmental crises caused by human activity, such as oil spills. - some minority representatives regretted that in certain countries the government does not recognize a humanitarian crisis as such when it only affect minorities. Item V. Recovering from crisis: ensuring durable solutions This session examined challenges faced by minorities seeking to return to a situation of normality after a crisis has ended, for example when returning to their place of origin, when finding a new place to settle after displacement, when seeking to relaunch local economic development and social services after protracted isolation, when reclaiming properties and goods after a crisis or when reskilling and seeking a new occupation in a new environment. Participants stressed the importance of keeping minority communities actively engaged in consultations to determine their best possible options for return or to 10