Foreword
by
the
UN
Special
Rapporteur
on
minority
issues
As
the
entire
international
community,
especially
the
UN
family,
I
have
followed
with
curiosity
and
great
interest
the
first
sessions
and
the
first
full
cycle
of
the
Universal
Periodic
Review.
I
was
eager
to
see
the
commitment
of
Member
States
to
minority
issues
in
this
revolutionary
peer
review
process
both
as
recommending
and
receiving
States.
One
could
expect
in
advance
that
the
situation
of
minorities
will
often
be
in
focus
and
indeed,
with
895
recommendations
it
was
the
9th
most
discussed
topic
at
the
1st
cycle
of
the
Human
Rights
Council’s
UPR
process.
I
believe
that
it
is
essential
that
we
analyze
these
recommendations
in
more
detail
and
draw
the
possible
lessons
so
we
can
further
improve
the
discussion
on
minority
issues
in
the
2nd
and
future
cycles.
It
is
my
privilege
to
offer
this
brief
overview,
which
has
been
prepared
by
myself
and
is
entirely
based
on
the
UPR
Info
database.
I
must
express
my
gratitude
to
the
UPR
Info
team1
and
its
director,
Roland
Chauville
for
their
cooperation
in
overviewing
the
relevant
recommendations
in
the
UPR
Info
database
so
to
make
sure
that
all
those
addressing
the
situation
of
national
or
ethnic,
religious
��and
linguistic
minorities
can
be
part
of
this
research.
A
special
thanks
goes
to
the
Fletcher
School
of
Law
and
Diplomacy,
Human
Rights
Practicum,
namely
to
Andra
Bosneag,
Kathryn
Joyce,
and
Rachel
Rosenberg
for
contributing
to
this
important
work.
I
hope
that
this
analysis
will
be
interesting
and
useful
for
all
those
working
on
and
being
interested
in
minority
issues.
1
Please
note:
not
identical
with
the
UPR
Team
within
the
UN
Office
of
the
High
Commissioner
for
Human
Rights
3