Sixth Session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues 26 and 27 November 2013 – Geneva, Switzerland THE PROTECTION OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE UNITED NATIONS AND ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES SYSTEMS Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves1 Madam Chairperson, Mister President, Madam Chief of Special Procedures, Mister Special Adviser on the prevention of Genocide, Madam Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great honor and privilege for me to address you at this Forum. I want to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to the Independent Expert for the kind invitation to join this important meeting. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the extraordinary efforts made by the United Nations, its Human Rights Council and Independent Expert towards the protection of minorities. Dear Colleagues, The protection of the rights of minorities contributes to the peace and stability of States and promotes human dignity. The International Organizations have an increasingly important role to play regarding the protection of minorities against human rights violations. 1 Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves earned an LLB and a Master’s degree in Public Law from the Federal University of Uberlandia, Brazil. He has also been awarded a specialist degree in Criminal Science by Gama Filho University, Brazil. He is a PhDc at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He teaches Constitutional Law at the Law School of the Federal University of Uberlandia and concentrates his research on Public Law and Fundamentals of Law. Mr. Alves also serves as a coordinator of the Law and Religion Research Group (http://www.direitoereligiao.org/), which focuses on religious freedom rights, protection of religious minorities, anti-discrimination norms and church-state relations. His work and articles have been published in national and international journals and events. Mr. Alves is a member of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS). He is licensed to practice law in Brazil.