A/HRC/29/24 III. Essential elements of a minority rights-based approach to protection of Roma worldwide 17. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the present report as an opportunity for her to address the situation of Roma globally through a minority rights lens, using the four pillars of minority rights: (a) the protection of a minority’s existence, including combating violence against them and preventing genocide; (b) the protection and promotion of the identity of minority groups and their right to enjoy their collective identity and to reject forced assimilation; (c) the guarantee of the rights to non-discrimination and equality, including the ending of structural or systemic discrimination and the promotion of affirmative action when required; and (d) the right to effective participation in public life and decisions that affect them. 18. The present report should be seen as complementary to the work undertaken by many other United Nations mechanisms. That includes the previous work carried out under the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, in the form of thematic reports, country reports, communications and press releases.12 It also includes the work of other special procedures mandate holders, including the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, who has reported on the causes and consequences of racism against Roma (see, for example, A/HRC/17/40, paras. 5–25, and A/HRC/26/50) and regularly addresses challenges facing Roma in country reports (see, for example, A/HRC/23/56/Add.2, A/HRC/20/33/Add.1, and A/HRC/7/19/Add.2), the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, who made important recommendations regarding Roma in her report on stigma (A/HRC/21/42) and in relevant country reports (see, for example, A/HRC/18/33/Add.2) and the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context (see, for example A/HRC/16/42/Add.2, paras. 51–56, and A/HRC/25/54/Add.2, paras. 69–71 and 74–75), among others. She also notes the role the United Nations treaty bodies have played in highlighting discrimination against Roma, particularly the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in its general comment No. 27 (2000) on discrimination against Roma. Roma have also featured prominently in the universal periodic review of States before the Human Rights Council. The Special Rapporteur refers to her recently published review of minority issues in the first cycle of the universal periodic review, which highlighted that over 25 per cent of all minority rights recommendations in the review referred to the situation of Roma.13 Despite that important work, the Special Rapporteur nevertheless believes that the full capacity of the United Nation is not yet being used by Roma rights advocates. The United Nations should be seen as a core Roma rights partner whose work can complement other mechanisms. She hopes that the present report will contribute to such an approach. 12 13 6 See the Special Rapporteur’s thematic reports on citizenship (A/HRC/7/23); hate speech and incitement to hatred against minorities in the media (A/HRC/28/64); and ensuring the inclusion of minority issues in post-2015 development agendas (A/HRC/25/56). See also the reports of the Special Rapporteur’s missions to France (A/HRC/7/23/Add.2); Greece (A/HRC/10/11/Add.3); Bulgaria (A/HRC/19/56/Add.2 and Corr.1); Hungary (A/HRC/4/9/Add.2); Ukraine (A/HRC/28/64/Add.1); and Bosnia and Herzegovina (A/HRC/22/49/Add.1). See also press releases, available from www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/IExpert/Pages/PressRoma.aspx. See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/IEMinorities/MinoritiesIssues1stcycleUPRProcess.pdf, pp. 15–18.