December 2, 2022 UN Forum on Minority Issues Reform: Filling the gaps in the implementation of the human rights of minorities Introduction We are here today under the theme of reform. Reform, above all requires innovation so rather than sitting here, and making a list of recommendations on how to fill in the gaps. I decided to innovate, by instead, telling you the stories of people who have been left behind because of those gaps. As I tell these stories, I will ask for your participation. Story 1 Has your identity has ever been an immanent barrier to your safety, I invite you to stand up Thank you, you may now be seated Julian, Viola, Kristina and at least 100 000 ppl like them have been faced with this barrier every day since March 2022. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, over 2 million people have fled to seek protection. Within that number, not all have been able to reach safety, not only due to the violence, but also because they were not deemed worthy of it. People like Julian, Viola and Kristina are refused access to humanitarian aid, to food, to transport they are refused housing, they are placed in segregated tents in refugee centers in Hungary, in Czech Republic, and Poland ,they are left behind even during war due to the deeply rooted racism they continuously face. In just a few days after the war, civil society organisations across the world filled the gap. More than 30 organizations, organized transports, collected humanitarian aid, raised money, sent interpreters at the border of every country neighbouring Ukraine to ensure the equal protection of Ukrainian Roma refugees. Story 2 Arakhav tume ande voja e lasi. In a past not so distant from today, speaking these words meant running the risk of being killed. Have you ever had to worry about your safety, simply for speaking your language, practising your religion, being born who you are, or loving who you love? If so, I invite to stand up. Thank you, you may now be seated