A/HRC/37/26 minorities facing violence and hate speech, often prevented from voting, acquiring citizenship or gaining access to remedies. Open advocacy for xenophobia and the demonization of minority groups was increasingly common, both online and offline. The principles contained in the Declaration must be injected into conflict prevention and peacebuilding work as well as in efforts to prevent violent extremism. They were also fundamental in ensuring that the commitment in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind was met. In October 2017, a side event was organized in New York to commemorate the anniversary of the Declaration, at which the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights recalled that the messages in the Declaration of inclusion, equality and respect for different cultures were being currently and constantly challenged through hate speech, discrimination and rising ethno-nationalism. He also emphasized the crucial role of NGOs in moving minority rights from paper to practice, as acknowledged by all Member States at the adoption of the Declaration, in which the important work of NGOs in protecting minorities and promoting their rights was highlighted. IV. Activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and recent developments in human rights bodies and mechanisms A. Early-warning mechanisms and protection of the existence of minorities 11. Article 1 of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities provides that States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories. A number of United Nations reports have shown that this provision has been violated in a number of contexts, with minorities being targeted and subjected to killings, violence, including ethnic cleansing, and massive forced displacement. There is also a rising tide of attacks around the world that target people on account of their religious beliefs, including in places of worship, and evidence of racial or religious profiling. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly highlighted the increasingly worrying levels of incitement to racial or religious hatred and violence, particularly against ethnic or religious minorities and migrants. The number of recorded hate crimes appears to be rising in several States. All those phenomena tear at the fabric of societies, thus creating mistrust, political and social instability and posing a threat to peace (A/HRC/34/35). 12. In his address to the Human Rights Council in September 2017, the High Commissioner requested that the Iraqi authorities address the long-standing grievances of all ethnic and religious communities to promote reconciliation and stability. Women should be an integral part of the process to ensure justice and accountability for past violations. In the report on her official visit to Iraq, made public in January 2017, the Special Rapporteur on minority issues concluded that ethnic and religious minority communities, which had been an integral part of the population and cultural heritage of the country for millenniums, were facing an unprecedented crisis that threatened their continued existence in the country. Iraq was at a crossroads and the actions of the Government would determine the extent to which the country would maintain its rich ethnic and religious diversity, or whether conflict and the neglect of minority rights would deprive it of that diversity in the future. Seeking security and seeing few prospects for the protection of their human rights in Iraq by the State, many had left the country, resulting in a dramatic decrease in minority populations. Without urgent action, many thousands more might follow (A/HRC/34/53/Add.1). 13. In August 2017, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the attack by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the Yazidi community, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic called on the international community to recognize the crime of genocide being committed by ISIL against the Yazidis and to undertake steps to refer the situation to justice. It reiterated its recommendation to all parties fighting ISIL to consider rescue plans for Yazidi captives. 5