34 PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and the rights of such groups.44 Thus, the Independent Expert on minority issues should be a key focal point for the Council’s activities on issues related to minorities. Mandate of the Independent Expert The mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues is one of over 30 thematic human rights mandates. It was created in 2005 by the former Commission on Human Rights, extended for the first time in 2008 by the Human Rights Council and renewed again by its resolution 16/6. The resolution requests the Independent Expert to: • Promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, including through consultations with Governments, taking into account existing international standards and national legislation concerning minorities; • Identify best practices and possibilities for technical cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner, at the request of Governments; • Apply a gender perspective in his or her work; • Cooperate closely, while avoiding duplication, with existing relevant United Nations bodies, mandates and mechanisms and with regional organizations; • Take into account the views of non-governmental organizations on matters pertaining to his or her mandate; • Guide the work of the Forum on Minority Issues, as decided by the Council in its resolution 6/15; • Submit annual reports on his or her activities to the Council, including recommendations for effective strategies for the better implementation of the rights of persons belonging to minorities. The Independent Expert is clearly called upon to fully engage with organizations working in the field of minority issues at all levels, from local to international and both governmental and nongovernmental. This, of course, includes the voices of minorities themselves, which are fully taken into account in every aspect of the work of the mandate. The mandate holder The Independent Expert is required to be independent from any Government or organization and serves in his or her individual capacity. Ms. Gay McDougall (of the United States of America) was the first holder of the mandate of Independent Expert on minority issues, between July 2005 and July 2011. Ms. Rita Izsák (of Hungary), also a participant in the Minorities Fellowship Programme, was appointed the second holder of the mandate and assumed her functions on 1 August 2011. Scope of the mandate In addition to the mandate, the Independent Expert is guided and informed by international standards relating to the rights of minorities, particularly the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. The Expert is also informed by international treaties that have provisions specifically relating to minority rights, including article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Of course, the rights guaranteed to individuals in all other United Nations human  rights conventions apply equally to members of minority groups. The work See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/IExpert/Pages/IEminorityissuesIndex.aspx (accessed 29 November 2012). 44