A/HRC/49/46 recommendations on the 2021 theme of conflict prevention are drawn primarily from the discussions of and contributions made by the almost 1,500 participants at the regional forums and the Forum on Minority Issues. 17. The Forum on Minority Issues itself was established in 2007 by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 6/15, and its important role was reaffirmed in 2012 in Council resolution 19/23. The Forum is mandated to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and to provide thematic contributions and expertise to support the work of the Special Rapporteur. The Special Rapporteur is tasked with guiding the work of the Forum, preparing its annual meetings and reporting to the Council on the Forum’s thematic recommendations. The Forum meets annually in Geneva for two working days allocated to thematic discussions. In recent years, the Forum has usually been attended by about 600 participants. 18. The fourteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues was held in a hybrid format on 2 and 3 December 2021, on the theme “Conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities”. It involved 670 delegates from some 50 countries. The Forum was guided by the Special Rapporteur and chaired by Victoria Donda (Argentina). Speakers included the President of the Human Rights Council, Nazhat Shameem Khan; the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights and Head of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in New York, Ilze Brands Kehris; the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Nderitu; the Permanent Observer of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to the United Nations, Nassima Baghli; and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) High Commissioner on National Minorities, Kairat Abdrakhmanov. 19. The complete report on the Forum on Minority Issues and its recommendations is being presented to the Human Rights Council separately. 6 IV. Conflict prevention through the protection of the human rights of minorities A. Introduction 20. More than a decade ago, the then Independent Expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall, issued the mandate holder’s first report on the role of the protection of minority rights in conflict prevention.7 Among other points, she emphasized that: among the essential elements of a strategy to prevent conflicts involving minorities are respect for minority rights, particularly with regard to equality in access to economic and social opportunities; effective participation of minorities in decisionmaking; dialogue between minorities and majorities within societies; and the constructive development of practices and institutional arrangements to accommodate diversity within society. Attention to minority rights at an early stage – before grievances lead to tensions and violence – would make an invaluable contribution to the culture of prevention within the United Nations, save countless lives and promote stability and development.8 Unfortunately, none of the recommendations in her report was heeded. 21. In his call for submissions for the present report,9 the Special Rapporteur took up the clarion call Ms. McDougall made in 2010, and highlighted that the groundbreaking United Nations/World Bank publication Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict, issued in 2018, similarly stated that the main drivers of instability globally were group-based grievances around exclusion and injustice. What was left largely unsaid in 6 7 8 9 4 See A/HRC/49/81. See A/HRC/16/45. Ibid., summary. See annex II.