A/71/254 12. The eighth session of the Forum was held in Geneva on 24 and 2 5 November 2015, with a thematic focus on minorities in the criminal justice system (see A/HRC/31/56). More than 500 delegates participated, including representatives of Member States, United Nations mechanisms, intergovernmental bodies, non-governmental organizations and minorities. They identified challenges and effective practices to combat discrimination against minorities during all stages of the criminal justice process. Recommendations from the Forum were submitted to the Council at its thirty-first session (A/HRC/31/72). 13. The ninth session of the Forum, which will focus on the theme of minorities in situations of humanitarian crises, will be held in Geneva, on 24 and 25 November 2016. 14. In the light of her mandate to guide the work of the Forum (resolution 25/5), the Special Rapporteur has been engaged in ongoing reflections and discussions about ways of refining and improving the format, impact and outrea ch of the Forum. In this connection, she convened and moderated a side event in Geneva on the sidelines of the 2015 Forum entitled “Minority rights protection in the United Nations system: looking back and looking ahead — A Forum for the future”. As a result of the consensus generated during this side event, in 2016 she has decided to convene a consultative event on the sidelines of the seventy-first session of the General Assembly. The meeting will strive to reach out to New York -based humanitarian actors, including civil society, in view of the focus of the Forum on minorities in a situation of humanitarian crisis. She hopes that this consultation will lead to increased awareness of and better engagement with the Minority Forum and will strengthen linkages between relevant Geneva-based and New York-based organizations and initiatives. III. Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises A. Introduction 15. According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the scale of global humanitarian needs is higher than ever. As of December 2015, there were an estimated 125 million people in need of humanitarian assistance worldwide. 1 Ongoing humanitarian crises in the Syrian Arab Republic, South Sudan and Iraq, and other natural disasters and medical outbreaks, including the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa, have affected the lives of tens of millions of people. Large numbers of people continue to suffer as a result of other new, chronic or recurrent conflicts, crises and disasters. Moreover, currently there are unprecedented numbers of persons displaced worldwide with situations of protracted conflict and violence creating increasingly large numbers of both refugees and internally displaced persons. According to the Office o f the United Nations High Commissioner Refugees, by the end of 2015, 65.3 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide; the highest number to date, as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations. 2 __________________ 1 2 6/25 Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Global Humanitarian Overview 2016”. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner Refugees “Global Trends 2015”. 16-13193