A/HRC/28/27
recommendations from those studies were prepared, which were translated into Russian,
Kyrgyz, Uzbek and Ukrainian, and were also made available in the various state, official
and minority languages as well as in English. The fact sheets seek to make the key findings
accessible to a broader audience and to strengthen advocacy at the regional level.
23.
OHCHR issued two one-page fact sheets entitled “Addressing forced evictions of
Roma” and “The inclusion of religious minorities in consultative and decision-making
bodies”. These are distributed to civil society and to State authorities during consultations
and other events with a view to raising awareness on what can be done to strengthen
protection of minority rights in specific areas.
C.
Strengthening the capacity of United Nations country teams
24.
In line with the guidance note, OHCHR held a training course on minority rights for
the United Nations country team in Pakistan on 6 and 7 May 2014, which brought together
participants from several United Nations agencies and programmes. A briefing, on minority
rights and the guidance note, was organized for senior staff. In addition, a session was
added to the course for senior staff of UN-Women Pakistan, which focused on the role of
the United Nations system in ensuring that its strategies and actions take into consideration
the special situation of minority women, including in terms of criminal justice responses to
harmful traditional practices and violence against women. Participants stressed that
effective United Nations action required continuous dialogue with a diverse representation
of minority women, including with a view to ensuring their contributions to the design and
implementation of United Nations action.
25.
On 1 December 2014, OHCHR convened a training session in Tunis on racial
discrimination and the protection of minorities. Organized pursuant to the guiding
principles and recommendations established under the guidance note, the training session
brought together participants from several United Nations agencies and programmes to
strengthen the capacity of the United Nations country team by looking at antidiscrimination and protection of minorities at the national and regional levels.
26.
OHCHR provided programmatic and advisory services support to United Nations
field presences. For example, it conducted a human rights assessment fact-finding mission
to the Sandžak/Raška region in Serbia, and drafted for the United Nations country team a
human rights profile for one of the most remote and economically disadvantaged regions of
the country in which minorities reside compactly. The human rights assessment identified
implementation gaps and highlighted the role that national stakeholders, non-national
stakeholders and the United Nations system as a whole could play in filling the gaps in
addressing the rights of minority communities. It has also pointed to appropriate entry
points for programmatic interventions to help define strategies for better protection of
human rights and minority rights in the region.
D.
Forum on Minority Issues
27.
The Forum on Minority Issues, established by the Human Rights Council in its
resolution 6/15, and renewed in resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012, provides an annual
platform for dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to persons belonging to national
or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. The annual session of the Forum is prepared
under the guidance of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues. The Forum’s seventh
session was held on 25 and 26 November 2014; its topic was “Preventing and addressing
violence and atrocity crimes targeted against minorities”, and it aimed to increase
awareness of the obligations of States under international law to protect minorities against
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