Item VII. Concluding remarks In her closing remarks, the Chair of the fifth session of the Forum on Minority Issues, Ms. Soyata Maiga, underlined that, through the wealth of presentations and proposals for recommendations received from all participants during this session of the Forum, all of the rights in the Declaration had been the subject of a very complex, critical and detailed analysis. She particularly welcomed the sharing of experiences from persons belonging to minorities themselves and the examples of challenges that they face but also the faith and hope that they had demonstrated for the future. She recalled that, in spite of the twenty years of existence of the Declaration, it has not actually delivered everything that it could and therefore it must be nurtured and consolidated through a collective and renewed commitment supporting the promotion and protection of all rights of persons belonging to minorities. She underlined that this goes hand in hand with the implementation of regional human rights instruments that also guarantee the rights of persons belonging to minorities. Among the main challenges that are being faced by all stakeholders, she pointed to the deficit in understanding and actual ownership of the Declaration by minorities themselves, the lack of legal recognition of the existence of minorities in numerous places and the insufficient integration of the Declaration’s principles in national legislation. She therefore stressed the need for institutionalisation of this Forum and for all stakeholders to attach more importance to the full implementation of its recommendations inter alia through the adoption of new legislation, policies and plans tailored to the needs of minorities. In conclusion, she emphasised that all of the rights contained in the Declaration are important and must be respected but that special attention is required on education, on the promotion and respect for linguistic rights as well as elements of the cultural identity of persons belonging to minorities. In her concluding remarks, the Independent Expert on minority issues, Ms Rita Izsák, stressed that all contributions heard during the Forum would greatly inform her work. She welcomed the examples of good practices in all regions that demonstrated the attention that Governments and other stakeholders are giving to minority issues. She also welcomed the examples of remaining challenges that served as reminders of the need for better implementation of the Declaration. She called on all participants to continue the dialogue initiated during the Forum throughout the year as the recommendations that it produces can only fulfil their potential when they are translated into action in countries and localities where the challenges involving minorities exist. She concluded by emphasising that implementation of minority rights require dialogue, consultation, understanding and sometimes compromise. 20