A/HRC/52/27 the rights of minorities at the United Nations, 11 including, perhaps especially, the 2013 Guidance Note of the Secretary-General, in which he called for the mainstreaming of minority rights across all pillars and activities of the United Nations and the integration of anti-discrimination and minority rights into the work of the United Nations system at the global, regional and country levels, including through coordination mechanisms. While these and other initiatives were significant and noteworthy at the time, they pale in comparison to developments for other marginalized groups. 35. The record more recently for minorities has not been one of progress, quite the opposite. As the Special Rapporteur points out, in his thematic report on protection of the rights of minorities in the institutions, structures and initiatives of the United Nations, institutionally, the United Nations embraced the need to focus on specific groups and their human rights by designating specific days, weeks, years and decades as occasions to mark events or topics in order to promote the objectives of the Organization, including human rights. Decades or years that have sought the promotion of the human rights of particularly vulnerable or marginalized groups have become commonplace except for one such group, that of minorities.12 36. Ironically, while the adoption of the Declaration was directly and intimately linked to the recognition of the centrality of minority protection in many of the world’s conflicts in the late 1980s and 1990s, the focus and expertise at the United Nations on this core issue has not followed suit: among other issues, the Standby Team of Senior Mediation Advisers does not include a professional staff member with comprehensive expertise on minority rights. While the Team has undoubtedly addressed questions of minority rights in its work, there remains no formally designated focal point in this field. Furthermore, there is no mention of the human rights of minorities in its 2022 factsheet or its open call for applications for 2023, despite most conflicts worldwide involving minority grievances or the instrumentalization of minority claims. Even the main document of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs providing an overview of the approach of the United Nations to conflict prevention and preventive diplomacy makes no reference to minorities.13 37. One of the few noteworthy initiatives after the adoption of the Declaration, and one full of promise, was the 2013 Guidance Note of the Secretary-General, which was developed within the framework of the United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities during the twentieth anniversary year of the Declaration in 2012 and which sets out guiding principles and a framework for United Nations action with a view to ensuring a comprehensive and coherent United Nations approach from Headquarters to regional and country presences. These were far-ranging and worthy of being highlighted: (a) Integrate anti-discrimination and minority rights into the work of the United Nations system at global, regional and country level, including through coordination mechanisms; (b) Pursue a human rights-based approach in all United Nations activities; (c) Apply a gender perspective in all analysis and actions and address multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination; (d) Promote diversity among United Nations staff, including through diversity action plans; (e) Conduct human rights training initiatives for United Nations staff and others to build knowledge on racial discrimination and protection of minorities and ensure that relevant United Nations training materials address these issues; (f) Focus on the minorities that are economically, politically and/or socially most marginalized and whose rights are particularly at risk; 11 12 13 8 A/77/246, para. 51. Ibid., para. 43. Ibid., para. 63.