A/HRC/49/81 I. Introduction 1. In its resolutions 6/15 and 19/23, the Human Rights Council decided that the Independent Expert on minority issues should guide the work of the Forum on Minority Issues and prepare its annual meetings, and invited him or her to include in his or her report thematic recommendations of the Forum and recommendations for future thematic subjects, for consideration by the Council. In its resolution 25/5, the Council decided to extend the mandate of the mandate holder as Special Rapporteur on minority issues. The present report was prepared pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 6/15 and 19/23. It contains the recommendations of the fourteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues, held on 2 and 3 December 2021 in Geneva in a hybrid format on the theme “Conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities”. The work of the Forum was guided by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes. The Forum was chaired by Victoria Donda. About 670 participants registered, including representatives of States, United Nations mechanisms, bodies, specialized agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental and regional organizations and mechanisms in the field of human rights, national human rights institutions and other relevant national bodies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and representatives of minorities, academics and experts on minority issues. 2. The recommendations in the present report are drawn primarily from the discussions and contributions made by the 670 participants at the fourteenth session of the Forum and reflect the contributions made by the participants of the four virtual regional forums on the same topic, organized by the Special Rapporteur with the support of the Tom Lantos Institute and other NGOs: for the Americas (where the regional forum was hosted by the Government of Mexico), for Africa and the Middle East (where the regional forum was hosted by the Government of the Gambia), for the Asia-Pacific region and for Europe and Central Asia (where the regional forum was co-hosted by the Governments of Austria, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Switzerland). Each forum involved close to 200 participants. The recommendations are based on international law, standards and good practices in the area of preventing conflicts involving minorities. They aim to provide guidance to further implement the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. 3. Key elements of the legal and normative framework from a human rights perspective include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. Specifically, on the topic of preventing conflicts involving minorities, the following instruments are also a reference: the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, the Beirut Declaration on Faith for Rights and its 18 commitments and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 4. The recommendations of the fourteenth session of the Forum are organized under the four agenda items that framed the discussion during the session. They are as follows: (a) Aim to address a wide range of breaches of the human rights of minorities around the world which are ultimately linked to the root causes of most of today’s violent conflicts; (b) Highlight the primary responsibility of the State in preventing conflicts involving minorities; (c) Reaffirm that minorities are not a threat but under threat and thus recognize the importance of the realization of the human rights of minorities in all areas of life; 2