PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS – A Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation In February 2021, the project partners followed up these consultations with a webinar specifically dedicated to the “nexus of expression and action: hate speech, incitement and anti-discrimination legislation”. Fourth, drafts of the guide were submitted to experts for verification and validation. In the first quarter of 2021, a complete draft of the guide was issued for review and validation to more than 50 experts from academia, civil society – including, in particular, the leading international organizations working with and on behalf of different groups exposed to discrimination – and OHCHR itself. In parallel with this process, the guide was scrutinized in detail by the independent Advisory Committee (see below). Following validation, the research team considered all feedback, input and proposals, adjusting the text as necessary to ensure its accuracy and completeness. B. Oversight and guidance The development of the guide was overseen by two expert committees, an independent Advisory Committee and the OHCHR Publications Committee. From the outset of the development of the guide, an independent Advisory Committee was established. The Advisory Committee comprised 13 leading experts in anti-discrimination and equality law, including, among others, three former United Nations Special Rapporteurs, a number of leading academic experts in comparative equality laws and experienced litigators, judges and representatives of independent equality bodies. In addition to their individual expertise, the Advisory Committee members were engaged with a view to ensuring a diversity of expertise, experience, thought and guidance. The Advisory Committee was gender-balanced and included recognized experts on the law on discrimination against women, persons with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and minorities, among others. It included experienced advocates, academics and activists and individuals with experience in government, non-governmental and intergovernmental settings. The Advisory Committee members represented a range of different legal systems and traditions, from every global region. The Advisory Committee provided expert guidance to the partners throughout, helping to ensure the relevance, utility and validity of the guide. The Advisory Committee was involved in guiding work during the inception, development, consultation and validation stages of the process and was available for consultation throughout. The Advisory Committee met on multiple occasions and provided regular guidance throughout the process of research and drafting. In addition to providing suggestions at the developmental stage of the guide, Advisory Committee members reviewed the guide as it was being drafted. Once a complete draft of the guide had been produced, in early 2021, the Advisory Committee convened for a multi-day meeting to review and comment on the draft in detail, while also providing extensive input in writing. In addition, the OHCHR Publications Committee was extensively involved in the development of the guide. In addition to approving an initial concept note, the Publications Committee delegated an expert for regular consultation on the development of the guide. In accordance with its procedures, the Publications Committee also appointed peer reviewers to review the manuscript, following the processes of validation, verification and review by the Advisory Committee. The suggestions of the expert peer reviewers have been incorporated in the final draft of the guide. C. Approach The deeply and broadly consultative and collaborative approach taken by the partners at every stage in the development of the guide reflects a recognition of a number of basic facts in this area of law. First, there is a truly global community of practitioners working in every country of the world on issues of equality and nondiscrimination. International law has both informed and been informed by developments at the national and regional levels, and it was thus important to engage with the widest possible range of partners at the national, regional and international levels. xxviii