A/HRC/37/66 Nations system as a “marriage” between a special procedure and a United Nations’ entity, this could be operationalized more strategically by, for instance, linking country visits to key Forum themes, or convening meetings on the implementation of relevant thematic recommendations during country missions; (f) Documentation: A searchable database containing all Forum statements would help to consolidate all the information generated by the Forum and make it more accessible; efforts to enhance the submission of written documents needs to be considered. 67. The Special Rapporteur wishes to reiterate the crucial importance of the Forum on Minority Issues, which represents the only avenue for a number of minority rights activists to advocate for change at the international level, but also as a positive and unique platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. He hopes that more States will attach increased importance to this unique platform and he encourages them to demonstrate their commitment to minority rights by contributing to the funding of the Forum so as to ensure its sustainability and progress. 68. The Special Rapporteur also welcomed the participation for the first time in the Forum of members of the World Federation of the Deaf. He acknowledges the importance of recognizing that, as users of sign language and members of a linguistic minority, deaf people everywhere have human rights that would, in the future, be considered in the activities of the mandate. IX. Conclusions 69. Individuals belonging to linguistic, religious or ethnic minorities are among the most vulnerable and marginalized in the world. Efforts need to be intensified in order to protect minorities who are disproportionately affected by statelessness and denial of citizenship and, in some cases, victims of systematic and widespread discrimination, exclusion and targeted by ethnic cleansing or even genocide. Minority women in particular may find themselves doubly marginalized because of their gender and as members of a linguistic, religious or ethnic minority. 70. Mandated by the Human Rights Council to promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and to examine ways and means of overcoming obstacles to the full and effective realization of the rights of minorities, the Special Rapporteur will adopt a global approach to issues through constructive exchanges and collaboration with all relevant stakeholders, including States, United Nations human rights mechanisms, international and regional organizations and civil society. 71. The Special Rapporteur will also build on the groundbreaking work carried out by his predecessors on the importance of addressing discrimination, exclusion and other violations of human rights affecting various communities, including the Dalit and Burakumin minorities, and other particularly vulnerable minorities such as the Roma and members of deaf minorities amongst others. He will do so by extending the practice of holding consultations with members of these communities. 72. Substantively, the Special Rapporteur will address four thematic priorities, namely, statelessness and the denial of the rights of minorities in citizenship matters and situations of statelessness; the interrelationship between conflict, minority rights and the promotion of inclusiveness and stability, which are central to the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities; the critical challenges of tackling hate speech, xenophobic rhetoric and incitement to hatred against minorities; and the sometimes misunderstood human rights dimensions of education and the rights of minorities, including in connection with the issue of the use of a minority language as the medium of instruction. 73. Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation, which was launched in March 2017 in all six United Nations languages, is a potentially 15