15th Session, Geneva, 1 and 2 December 2022 15th session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues Review. Rethink. Reform. 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Minority Rights Concept Note The 15th session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues (UN Forum) will be convened on 1 and 2 December 2022 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/15 of 28 September 2007 and resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012. This year, the theme of the UN Forum is "Review. Rethink. Reform: 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Minority Rights ". 1. Background Promoting equality. Protecting communities. Providing a voice. Preventing conflict. The Declaration aimed to achieve all of that, and to provide countries concrete guidance on how to protect and promote minorities’ human rights. Michelle Bachelet, ex-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Statement to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration. The year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (hereinafter UNDM). Since its adoption in 1992, the Declaration remains the only global instrument for the protection of minority rights. It reinforces and builds on the rights enshrined in the UN human rights framework to protect and promote the existence, equality, identity and effective participation of national or ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities. The 30th anniversary also offers an important opportunity to examine the diverse ways in which the Declaration has been used and implemented in practice and to gain the perspectives of different stakeholders on how it