threads that make up the final text of the Recommendations. Special thanks also go to (in alphabetical order) River Hustad, Mitra Jalali, Zhazira Kul-Mukhammed, Elzbieta Kuzborska-Pacha, Tihana Leko, Marianne Mahaffey, Jelena Nikolić Todorić and Anton Thomsen who have overseen and guided the drafting process from beginning to end, as well as editors Michelle Pirotta and Theresa Stanton who have a crucial role in ensuring the consistency of HCNM advice to participating States throughout all HCNM thematic Recommendations and Guidelines. In addition, the final text has benefitted from the critical input of Petra Roter, President of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, who contributed new perspectives to the Recommendations. The excellent institutional co-operation with the OSCE Gender Section also deserves special credit. For this, I am especially grateful to Lara Scarpitta, Senior Adviser on Gender Issues, for her comments on the draft text. I am also grateful for the insightful discussions on minority issues with the experts at the European Centre for Minority Issues and Eurac Research. I am confident that the new Recommendations will serve as an important and timely benchmark for all of the 57 OSCE participating States. I therefore encourage all governments and parliaments throughout the OSCE area to use them as guiding principles when developing policies that have an impact on minorities and diverse communities. Kairat Abdrakhmanov OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities The Hague, 24 October 2023 Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Social and Economic Life 9