A/HRC/FMI/2025/2 I. Introduction and background to the Forum on Minority Issues 1. The eighteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues will be held on 27 and 28 November 2025 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 6/15 and 19/23. II. Theme of the eighteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues 2. The theme of the eighteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues will be “The contribution of minorities to diverse, resilient and peaceful societies”. 3. Three panel discussions are to be organized, on the following topics: (a) Building trust and social cohesion: addressing barriers to peaceful coexistence; (b) Recognizing the full contribution of minorities to the economic, social, cultural, political and institutional fabric of society; (c) Amplifying minority voices in peacebuilding, accountability and transitional justice processes. III. Background 4. In the preamble to the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the General Assembly considered that the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities contributed to the political and social stability of States in which they lived. This foundational principle reflects a consensus within international human rights law that diversity is not a threat but a strength and is essential to building peaceful, just and cohesive societies. 5. Article 1 of the Declaration enshrines the obligation of States to protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities and to encourage the conditions for the promotion of that identity. Article 2 affirms that persons belonging to minorities have the right to enjoy their culture, use their language and practise their religion, and provides for their effective participation in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life, as well as in decision-making processes on matters affecting them. These provisions echo article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as authoritatively interpreted by the Human Rights Committee in its general comment No. 23 (1994), in which it underlined that “the protection of these rights is directed towards ensuring the survival and continued development of the cultural, religious and social identity of the minorities concerned, thus enriching the fabric of society as a whole” (para. 9). 6. During its eighteenth session, the Forum on Minority Issues will highlight the contributions of minorities to stable, resilient and peaceful societies while identifying the challenges faced by societies in fully embracing diversity and the positive contributions that minorities can bring, through their unique characteristics, perspectives and differences. 7. However, the coexistence of minorities with dominant groups is often perceived as a threat to national identity or territorial unity. Indeed, most nation States have historically been closely linked to the idea of a singular national, ethnic, religious or linguistic identity. Minorities, by embodying cultural, ethnic, caste, linguistic or religious differences, are often seen as deviating from this constructed norm. This perception is often compounded by fears of national and territorial fragmentation, historical conflict legacies and a lack of intercultural dialogue and education, and is at times deliberately instrumentalized for political purposes. 8. At its eighteenth session, the Forum will demonstrate that, on the contrary, when minorities are respected, included and empowered, they contribute actively to cultural richness, social innovation and the overall cohesion and prosperity of society as a whole. The 2 GE.25-14152