A/HRC/55/51 9. Between 1 January and 31 October 2023, the former Special Rapporteur on minority issues participated as a keynote or guest speaker or panellist at approximately 70 events, including webinars and in-person conferences. 10. For example, he engaged in: events organized by regional organizations, such as the twenty-first regular session, in Jeddah, of the Independent Permanent Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation; an event, held at Headquarters, entitled “Preventive diplomacy in the changing landscape of modern conflicts: the role of the United Nations and regional organizations”, organized by the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; the launch, in Warsaw, of Understanding Anti-Roma Hate Crimes and Addressing the Security Needs of Roma and Sinti Communities: A Practical Guide, published by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; and the launch, in The Hague, of the Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Social and Economic Life, published by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. 11. The previous Special Rapporteur engaged with government entities, including addressing the Corsican Assembly in Ajaccio, France; appearing as an expert witness at the hearing, in Washington, D.C., on advancing religious freedom within the United States of America–India bilateral relationship, organized by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom; delivering a keynote address at a conference on the genocide of the Feyli Kurds in Erbil, Iraq, organized by the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; addressing an international conference, held in Chisinau, dedicated to multilingual education, organized by the Presidency of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia of the Republic of Moldova; and speaking at a meeting at the European Parliament, in Brussels, organized by the Generalitat de Catalunya. 12. The previous Special Rapporteur participated in numerous activities sponsored by United Nations entities, such as the launch of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris; a round table, held in San José, Costa Rica, on action to strengthen Roma inclusion policy on a human rights basis organized by OHCHR and the University for Peace; and the high-level symposium, held in Vienna, entitled “Vienna World Conference 30 Years On: Our Rights – Our Future”. 13. Most of the awareness-raising activities of the previous Special Rapporteur involved civil society or academic and scientific organizations. He addressed, among many others, meetings on statelessness and education organized by the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion; the World Uyghur Congress at the parliament of Japan in Tokyo; the languages for democracy event organized by the World Esperanto Youth Organization in Strasbourg, France; the ninth Nitobe symposium, held in Turin, Italy, entitled “75 anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: what is the status of the implementation of language rights”, organized by the Centre for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems, Ulster University and the University of Turin; and the General Assembly, held in Cagliari, Italy, of the European Language Equality Network on the overarching benefits of protecting and promoting minoritized languages. 14. The previous Special Rapporteur gave lectures on his mandate, including at the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bingöl University, Türkiye; New York University, the United States; the National University of Ireland (Galway); Hunter College, the United States; the European Academy of Bolzano Summer School, Italy; Western Visayas State University, the Philippines; Paris-Panthéon-Assas University, France; and the Global Campus of Human Rights – Arab World, Lebanon. 15. Since 1 November 2023, the newly appointed Special Rapporteur has been engaged with the organization of the Forum on Minority Issues, which was held in Geneva on 29 November and 1 December 2023. In the preparation and follow-up of the Forum, he established many contacts and discussed relevant issues that are reflected in the present report. GE.24-00944 3