A/HRC/52/27 in a climate in which there has been a regression in the international protection of minority rights. While such a proposal is not novel,30 it has undoubtedly become louder as the situation of minorities worsens in many parts of the world and is continuously repeated and emphasized as an idea whose time has come. 66. Consultations by the Special Rapporteur were ongoing in 2022 with numerous minority representatives, experts and minority civil society organizations, though in a sense these have been ongoing alongside the regional and United Nations forums since 2019. As a result, most felt the present report should be a catalyst for action to work together to make the Declaration a reality for minorities everywhere. As a result, and to reflect the central, universal recommendation in this regard, the Special Rapporteur is putting forth a proposal for a draft global minorities treaty,31 as an idea whose time has come in the hope that the United Nations will initiate a process that could ultimately lead to a legally binding instrument. 67. The other main recommendations in this thematic report are based on an analysis of the recommendations of the regional and United Nations forums, the contributions in response to the call for submissions to the Special Rapporteur and other consultations. VI. Recommendations 68. The Special Rapporteur invites States, the Human Rights Council and the United Nations to initiate a process to develop a legally-binding instrument on the protection of the rights of minorities, inspired by the Special Rapporteur’s proposed draft treaty,32 which covers some of the most important areas of human rights and concern for national or ethnic, religious or belief and linguistic minorities, as well as innovative and constructive new approaches to assist States in complying with their human rights obligations. Such an instrument should help address gaps in the protection of the substantive rights of minorities, such as citizenship rights; economic rights, including those relating to land, with a focus on sustainable and inclusive development of minority regions while protecting the natural environment; the right to participation in decisionmaking, which needs to reflect existing State practice with regard to the norms of autonomy; and, last, but not least, the rights of religious or belief minorities. It should also serve to clarify the scope of international minority protection, focusing on the inclusion of caste- and descent-based groups, and be adapted, in particular, to minorities with a particularly grave history of exclusion, such as the Dalits, Roma and immigrant minorities. 69. The Special Rapporteur recommends that a new guidance note be issued to operationalize the Guidance Note of the Secretary-General on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in order to put into action the mainstreaming and integration of minority rights across all pillars and activities of the United Nations. The Special Rapporteur also urges the United Nations system to reactivate and implement the integration of minority rights into its work at the global, regional and country levels. 70. The Special Rapporteur also invites States, the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly to create a permanent forum for minorities to improve the capacity of the United Nations to effectively address the problems facing minorities. In line with the precedents of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, a new forum should be composed of representatives of minority groups, taking into account diversity, regional balance and gender parity, to serve in their personal capacity as experts. The permanent forum should convene on a rotating basis in New York and Geneva, to coordinate with both the human rights and security mechanisms of the United Nations. It should be created alongside a supportive voluntary fund, to consist of organizations, institutions and persons representing minorities around the world. This would further enhance the 30 31 32 A/77/246, para. 71. Available from https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/Annex1.-A-HRC-52-27_0.docx. Ibid. 15