recommendations had been made available to all Forum participants, and formed the basis for the discussions2. Format of the Forum The Forum followed the procedure that has been developed over its previous sessions. To help focus the discussions and ensure that they would be highly inter-active, each agenda item was introduced by a few pre-determined presentations, most of which by minority representatives, before the Forum would hear interventions from participants, based on a sign-up sheet. Outcome documents The present document is prepared in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 19/23 which requests the Chair to prepare “a summary of the discussion of the Forum, to be made available to all participants of the Forum”. This summary is to be complemented by the outcome document containing the recommendations from the Forum presented by the Independent Expert on minority issues to the Human Rights Council at its 22nd Regular Session in March 2013. This summary does not provide the details of all presentations that were made during the Forum’s proceedings. The consolidated list of speakers and, where available, the full text of their presentations can be found on the Forum’s website at the following address: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Minority/Pages/Session5.aspx Item I. Opening meeting The Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, addressed the Forum through a videomessage in which he indicated that this session, marking the 20th anniversary of the Declaration, was an opportunity to review its impact on national legislation, policy and practices and to reaffirm everyone’s commitment to this cause. He stressed that many challenges remain and that, at this time of economic distress, minorities often bear the brunt of societal tensions. He emphasized the crucial role played by the United Nations in minority protection while reaffirming his strong commitment to ensuring that minority issues are reflected in the work of the Organization through such measures as the recent establishment of the United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities, coordinated by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Secretary-General underlined that this Forum, together with the mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues, are key actors, including as platforms for dialogue on implementation of the Declaration. The President of the Human Rights Council, H.E. Laura Dupuy Lasserre, stressed that the Human Rights Council had recognized the importance of consistently addressing minority issues including by creating such strong mechanisms as the mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues and the Forum on Minority Issues. She underlined 2 See A/HRC/FMI/2012/2 and A/HRC/FMI/2012/3 available on the Forum’s website. 2