Mr. Pere Aragonès i Garcia stressed the need to preserve all languages in a globalized world as a way to protect both equality rights for everyone. He highlighted the challenges of multilingualism and that language should be aligned with recognition, learning and use of other languages. Mr. Aragonès i Garcia evoked the rights of minorities to use their language in public administration and private services Hestated that the defense of the linguistic rights of minorities’ language has made significant progress in many parts of the world and despite instruments, such as the Declaration, have undoubtedly contribute to this progress, it would be appropriate to expand and develop other similar instruments11. Interactive Dialogue12 Participants presented initiatives, such as the establishment of a legally binding treaty and more effective monitoring and coordination mechanisms and the establishment of an UN Decade on Minorities. Item III: Rethinking: Minority Rights defenders and their role in promoting principles of the Declaration Participants were invited to identify challenges faced by minority rights defenders, in particular women minority rights defenders,best practices and ways to advance defenders’ work in promoting the realization of the Declaration and bringing the principles of the Declaration into practice while considering multidimensional challenges faced by human rights defenders belongingto minority groups with a view to elaborating sustainable solutions. Participants were invited to comment on the Secretary-General’s Call to Action for Human Rights, in which he offered a blueprint for all Governments to address long-standing issues of discrimination; to take stock of the situation of the civic space for minoritygroups; and to discuss on means to protect and enlarge civic space for minority groups and to enhance civic participation among minorities. They were also invited to provide recommendations on how addressing, preventing and reporting cases of reprisals against minority representatives who are cooperating with the United Nations toadvance the implementation of the Declaration. Presentations on the topic under discussion were made by the following panelists: Ms. Zubayra Shamseden, Vice President of the World UyghurCongress, Ms. Poonam Mohtey, Coprincipal Investigator or the SamataFoundation, and Ms. Diane Alai, Representative of the Bahai InternationalCommunity to the UN. Ms. Zubayra Shamseden expressed her concerns on the situation of the Uyghurs in China. She also informed about a human rights project in which a research-based advocacy organization documents human rights violations against Uyghurs. Ms. Shamseden evoked the report issued by the Office of the High 11 The integral version of the statement can be consulted on the Human Rights Council Extranet: Pages - 15th session (ohchr.org) 12 Interventions on this item can be consulted on the Human Rights Council Extranet: Pages - 15th session (ohchr.org)