people, which have amounted to crimes against humanity, war crimes, and possibly genocide. In this humanitarian situation, minorities are targeted by the ISIL movement risking the permanent destruction of diverse ethnic and religious communities, within both Iraq and large areas of the Middle East. Following an overview of the origins of the current conflict, he went on to discuss how ethnic and religious communities have suffered from violence. He stressed that state institutions currently remain weak and there is a lack of basic services, which may indicate a potential deterioration of the situation. He discussed how the Human Rights Office of United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq has been closely monitoring the human rights situation in Iraq for many years but that unfortunately, an effective security response has not been seen. He expressed the hope of better coordination of mechanisms, including UN agencies, the Government and broader international community. He focused on the importance on the prevention of crimes, as well of transitional justice in cases where crimes have occurred. He stressed the importance of addressing the relationships between the various ethnic and religious communities in the Iraq context and ensuring the implementation of programmes and policies that promote their full and equal participation in the political, social and economic life of the country. Furthermore, he elaborated on the importance of ensuring minority representation at all levels of political and policy decision-making, access to basic services, reforming the education curricula to promote tolerance and understanding between communities, ensuring balanced representation in the media and improving access to justice. Central Bureau of Investigation Government of India, Ms. Nina Singh, Joint Director Following an overview of framework in India to prevent and protect the rights of minorities, Ms. Singh focused on her experience as a police officer in India. She highlighted long and short term measures in the field of policing and security to protect minorities against violence and atrocity crimes. Firstly, she suggested more efforts on recruitment to ensure adequate representation of minorities in the police force. Moreover, she focused on the fact that consistent efforts should be made during the training both at induction stage and in service to build capacities of security forces to minority related issues. She discussed how social media poses a huge challenge in aggravating tensions because unconfirmed rumours can propagate at a lightening pace. She recommended that cyber security teams pay special attention on this type of media. Finally, she emphasised that in the short term constant dialogue and engagement with the stakeholders are vital. Senior Lecturer in Media Cultures, School of Humanities, University of Hertfordshire, Dr. Brilliant Mhlanga Doctor Mhlanga began by focussing on the importance of considering the enormity of the challenges faced by ethnic minorities and the restrictive conditions within which they have been forced to subsist. He gave an historical overview of the dynamics that informed the liberation struggles in Africa and explained how the mantra “divided we fall, united we stand”, which has accompanied African nation building projects, has contributed to form 12