A/HRC/55/51 III. Update on the sixteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues 16. The Forum on Minority Issues was established in 2007 by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 6/15. The important role of the Forum was reaffirmed in 2012 through Council resolution 19/23. The Forum is mandated to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and to provide thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the Special Rapporteur. The Special Rapporteur is tasked with guiding the work of the Forum, preparing its annual sessions and reporting to the Council on the Forum’s thematic recommendations. The Forum meets annually in Geneva for two working days, which are allocated to thematic discussions. The complete report of the sixteenth session of the Forum is being submitted to the Council in a separate report. 17. The sixteenth session of the Forum took place in Geneva on 29 November and 1 December 2023. The late appointment of the Special Rapporteur caused some disruption to the preparation of the Forum, which is usually held four or five months after the appointment of a new mandate holder. Given that the Special Rapporteur’s mandate only commenced on 1 November 2023, the preparation process was complex and the Forum had to be coordinated within a few weeks between the outgoing Special Rapporteur and the incoming one. In that context, the Special Rapporteur wishes to thank Fernand de Varennes for his efforts to ensure a smooth transition between the mandate holders concerning the preparation of the sixteenth session. He also wishes to express special thanks to the OHCHR secretariat who showed flexibility and great willingness to pragmatically advance on the organization of the Forum. 18. The theme of the sixteenth session of the Forum was “Minorities and cohesive societies: equality, social inclusion and socioeconomic participation”. 2 Despite the late announcement of the Forum – due to the delay in the appointment of a new Special Rapporteur – the Forum was a success. Some 570 registered participants and numerous member States followed the two-day discussions. Twelve panellists provided their insights into the subthemes of the Forum, while approximately 210 participants delivered statements on the issues at stake. 19. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes the importance and quality of exchanges on minority issues that the Forum allows. As was underlined above (see para. 4), minority issues are structurally underrepresented in United Nations activities and programmes. Therefore, the Forum constitutes a unique opportunity for minority voices to be heard in the United Nations system. In that respect, as will be underlined in the following sections, one of the priorities of the Special Rapporteur is to extend the duration of the annual sessions of the Forum to at least three days (see paras. 48 and 66 below). IV. Vision and understanding of minority issues 20. In the present section, the Special Rapporteur not only wishes to present his vision and priorities for the mandate to member States and other stakeholders, he also sincerely hopes that his vision and priorities will be discussed among all interested stakeholders, including member States, with a view to allowing the mandate holder to produce concrete results for the benefit of persons belonging to minorities. The vision for the mandate is articulated around three main issues. First, how the requirement for specific and differentiated treatment due to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities contributes to the universal character of the protection of human rights through the equal and non-discriminatory enjoyment of human rights by all persons. Second, how the protection of minority rights interacts with the individual human rights of persons belonging to a minority group. Third, how minorities’ identities contribute to each national identity. 2 4 For more details on the theme, see www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/forums/ minority-issues/session16/16th-session-concept-note.pdf. GE.24-00944