FORUM ON MINORITY ISSUES EIGHTH SESSION "Minorities in the criminal justice system" 24 and 25 November 2015 Room XX, Palais des Nations, Geneva SUMMARY BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE FORUM Mr Joshua Castellino Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012, the Forum on Minority Issues continues to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as well as providing thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Ms Rita Izsák-Ndiaye. The Forum identifies and analyzes best practices, challenges, opportunities and initiatives for the further implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (hereinafter referred to as “the Declaration”). The Forum meets annually for two working days allocated to thematic discussions. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues is responsible for guiding the work of the Forum, preparing its annual meetings and reporting on its thematic recommendations to the Human Rights Council. The eighth session of the Forum took place on 24 and 25 November 2015 in Room XX of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Mr Joshua Castellino was appointed as Chair of the session, which focussed on "Minorities in the criminal justice system". Over 500 participants took part in this eighth session of the Forum, including United Nations Member States and specialized agencies, intergovernmental and regional organizations, human rights treaty bodies, national human rights institutions, academics and experts, as well as civil society actors working on minority issues1. In addition to this wide range of stakeholders, this session brought together persons belonging to national, ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities who are actively engaged in minority rights advocacy and diverse areas of work related to the protection and promotion of the rights of minorities, as well as experts in the field of criminal justice. The report of the Special Rapporteur to the 70th session of the General Assembly, dedicated to the situation of minorities in the criminal justice process (A/70/212), as well as a detailed programme of work and a set of draft recommendations were made available 1 The list of the organizations and delegations that participated in the Forum is available on the website of the Forum on Minority Issues: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Minority/Pages/Session8.aspx 1