A/HRC/28/27 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 17 December 2014 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-eighth session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to resolutions 13/12 and 22/4 of the Human Rights Council, in which it is requested that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights submit to the Human Rights Council an annual report containing information on relevant developments regarding the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in the work of United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms, as well as on the activities undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at its headquarters and in the field. During the reporting period, OHCHR continued to prioritize the protection of minorities, as illustrated by the pronouncements to that effect made on several occasions by the High Commissioner. The activities undertaken this year by OHCHR in line with the “Guidance note of the Secretary-General on racial discrimination and protection of minorities” demonstrate that progress has been achieved in providing support to governments, and to minorities to claim their individual rights, but serious challenges remain in terms of implementation of these rights. GE.14-24573 (E) 