It is a great pleasure to join you for the opening of this eighth session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues and to welcome you all. I am particularly pleased to see so many participants representing minorities from around the world present today. This is your Forum and a unique space within the UN system for dialogue on issues pertaining to minorities; an open space where all stakeholders involved in the promotion and the protection of the rights of minorities can meet, exchange ideas and learn from each other's experiences. It is a venue where minority voices are welcome and can be heard. I would like to congratulate Mr Joshua Castellino for his appointment as the Chair of this 8th session. I am sure that we will benefit greatly from his guidance and wealth of experience in the topic at hand. I also warmly thank and congratulate the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Ms Rita Izsak, for her work in preparing and guiding this Forum, with the support of the committed staff of our Office: I also welcome the distinguished group of experts who have kindly agreed to contribute to this Forum. From the wealth of experience from around the world that they bring to the podium, I know that their presentations regarding the four themes that will be the focus of your deliberations over next two days will undoubtedly provide thought-provoking ideas regarding the complex challenges minorities are confronted with in the various stages of the criminal justice process and also assist in the responses that this Forum is tasked to discuss. Criminal legal systems vary across the regions: they have developed over time as a result of each country's unique history, legal tradition, cultural diversity and judicial choices. Despite these differences, one commonality exists: in all countries, criminal justice systems are meant to be credible, trustworthy judicial institutions acting under the rule of law, in an impartial manner and in full compliance with international human rights standards. However, as we look back at not only the recent developments in different parts of the world, but also over the past decades, the reality is depressingly different: it often is ethnicity, religion or other characteristics or status that dictates whether a person is arrested, how she or he is prosecuted or subjected to a harsher sentence. Frequently, this