Human Rights Council Forum on Minority Issue s Fifth Se ssion Imple me nting the De claration on the Rights of Pe rsons Be longing to National or Ethnic, Re ligious and Linguistic Minoritie s: Ide ntifying positive practice s and opportunitie s Ge ne va, Nove mbe r 27 and 28, 2012 Inte rve ntion pre se nte d by: Mr. Issa Hamad Al-Hewetat (Jordan), Samer Masouh (Syria), Noman Qaid Al-Hudhaifi (Yemen) OHCHR Minority Fellows Ms. President, Ms. independent expert on Minority issues, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to intervene on behalf of the many young men and women defending human rights on the topic of education in regards to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. In the present day, education has become an urgent need for a dignified and safe life, in addition education [has become] a lifelong right for all. Education is no longer confined to a single social class. If successful and effective governments rely on successful and balanced educational strategies, they stand at the same distance from all their citizens and inhabitants. With the advent of the year 2015, minorities are expected to constitute a third of the world population, making them a human force, which represent national assets - technicians, scientist, builders of the future,and a strong resource for building the societies, in which they live. The young men and women defending minority rights long for the world governments to keep hope alive by putting in place the sincere educational strategies stemming from human conscience, which were outlined by the UN Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities of 1992 and whose anniversary, 20 years after its declaration, we celebrate today. The declaration of the United Nations regarding minorities stipulated in its second article the right to enjoy [their] own culture and language, and the right to effectively participate in the national culture as well. Further, in the third article it affirmed the human rights and the basic freedoms, while the fourth article affirmed the right to develop [their] culture, language, religion, traditions and customs as well as the right to