dislocations are expected to flow from global climate change and its effects on food, water, habitats and livelihoods. Insufficient attention to recording and collecting information about these consequences for minorities can mean that counteracting measures will remain weak. Times of economic crisis can be particularly difficult for minority groups that may already be subject to societal discrimination and stigma, and who may be undocumented or migrant workers. Societal pressures to blame those who are the most vulnerable can become explosive unless governments play a moderating role and act as guarantors of protection from violence and abuse. I would conclude by saying that the work of this Forum is hugely significant and I have high expectations of it. Let us not forget as we begin our work this morning that in many of the poorest societies and even in some of the wealthiest, the struggle of minorities and others for effective economic participation is also a struggle for survival – for the livelihoods and incomes of individuals, families and entire communities. Without an equalising social, legal and political environment for economic participation children go hungry, poverty takes hold, families and communities fall apart. I have seen the outcomes and recommendations of past sessions of this Forum and I am impressed by their potential to catalyse change – but only if they are implemented. So we must keep an eye also on the future and, in shaping our recommendations, on making them as concrete and achievable as possible so that they can be put quickly into practice. The relevance of what we do here in these days is well captured by this quote from a speech given in New York by the Secretary General on the occasion of Human Rights Day: “…Human Rights Day commemorates the