Format of the Forum The Forum followed the procedure developed over its previous sessions. To help focus the discussions and ensure that they would be interactive, each agenda item was introduced by several invited panellists, followed by interventions from other participants. 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 of the Forum presented by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues to the Human Rights Council at its 49th session in March 20222. This summary does not provide the full details of all presentations that were made during the Forum’s proceedings. The list of speakers and the statements submitted to the Secretariat of the Forum on Minority Issues can be accessed at the Forum webpage. Item I. Opening of the Forum The President of the Human Rights Council H.E. Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan welcomed all participants and thanked them for their flexibility in participating in the Forum in a hybrid format. She noted that the Forum is a unique venue to reflect on issues pertaining to the enjoyment of all human rights by minorities through dialogue and cooperation between all stakeholders. She added that the theme of the Forum, conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities, could not be timelier, as over the past decade conflicts across the globe have increased dramatically, and within affected communities, minority groups are often the most vulnerable, overlooked and neglected in times of crisis. The President of the Human Rights Council noted that the Council has taken significant action to ensure that human rights and minority issues remain firmly on the Council’s agenda, by ensuring the continuation of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues; the establishment, through Council decision 24/118, of a Special Fund that supports the participation of civil society in a number of Forums, including this one; and finally, the Council established this Forum in 2007 to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. She stated that since its establishment, the UN Forum on Minority Issues has played an essential role in promoting minority rights as contained in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. She mentioned, as an example, that the Forum produces valuable guidance to human rights actors at the 22 A/HRC/49/81 2