FORUM ON MINORITY ISSUES TWELFTH SESSION "LANGUAGE, EDUCATION AND THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF MINORITIES" 28 AND 29 NOVEMBER 2019 ROOM XX, PALAIS DES NATIONS, GENEVA SUMMARY BY THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE FORUM Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012, the Forum on Minority Issues provides a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as well as thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Dr Fernand de Varennes. The Forum identifies and analyses best practices, challenges, opportunities and initiatives for the further implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The Forum meets annually for two days, on a different theme each year. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues is responsible for guiding the work of the Forum, preparing its annual meetings and reporting on its thematic recommendations to the Human Rights Council. The Twelfth session of the Forum took place on 28 and 29 November 2019 in Room XX of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Ms. Anastasia Crickley and Ms. Astrid Thors were appointed as Co-Chairs of the session, which focused on the theme: "Education, language and the human rights of minorities’’. About 600 participants took part in the session, including Member States and specialized agencies, intergovernmental and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, academics and experts, and civil society actors working on minority issues. The wide range of stakeholders included persons belonging to national or ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities who are actively engaged in minority rights advocacy and diverse areas of work related to the protection and promotion of the rights of minorities, as well as experts in the field of education. Interpretation in six official UN languages, as well as, for the first time, interpretation in sign language (international) was provided during the Forum. The Concept Note, the Agenda of the Forum and the Program of Work were made available to all Forum participants in advance of the Forum on the webpage of the Twelfth session of the Forum1, and formed the basis for the discussions. 1 www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Minority/Pages/Session12.aspx