A/HRC/37/66 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues was established by the Commission on Human Rights in its resolution 2005/79 of 21 April 2005. It was subsequently extended by the Human Rights Council in successive resolutions, the most recent being resolution 34/6 which extended the mandate under the same terms as provided for in resolution 25/5. 2. The Special Rapporteur, Fernand de Varennes of Canada, was appointed by the Council on 26 June 2017 and assumed his functions on 1 August 2017. His term in office may be renewed for two three-year periods. 3. The Special Rapporteur is honoured to be entrusted with the mandate and thanks the Council for its trust in him. He also wishes to thank the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for its support in the implementation of the mandate. 4. The present report is the first one submitted by the Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council. In it, he outlines his main priorities and vision for the mandate, which include promoting the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities) through consultations with governments and other stakeholders. To that end, he will take into account existing international standards and national legislation concerning minorities and will identify best practices by States and possibilities for technical cooperation with OHCHR. 5. The report contains eight substantive sections. Section II provides an overview of the activities of the previous Special Rapporteur from January to July 2017; section III covers the activities of the current Special Rapporteur from August to December 2017; section IV sets out the priorities and vision that will guide his mandate; section V summarizes the communication activities of the mandate in 2017; section VI presents the results of the research on minority issues in the second cycle of the universal periodic review; section VII details the aims of the new practical guide for the implementation of the language rights of linguistic minorities; and section VIII provides an update of the tenth Forum on Minority Issues, held on 30 November and 1 December 2017. The final section of the report contains conclusions and insights on the Special Rapporteur’s mandate. 6. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank his predecessor, Rita Izsák-Ndiaye — whose second three-year term ended on 31 July 2017 — for promoting and advocating for the rights of minorities over the past six years. She has contributed greatly to the effective implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities and to fostering a better understanding of several crucial areas affecting the rights of minorities. Through a wide consultative process, focusing primarily on increasing ownership of their rights by minorities themselves, she has enhanced their visibility and increased the engagement of the international community and the United Nations, in particular, in tackling the challenges they face. Those efforts were consolidated through eight country visits, which helped to shed light on a number of critical issues faced by minorities in different contexts. II. Activities of the previous Special Rapporteur (January–July 2017) 7. On 28 February 2017, the previous Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Rita Izsák-Ndiaye, delivered a statement in the context of a side event to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Rights of Minorities. The event was co-hosted by Minority Rights Group International and the Permanent Mission of Austria to the United Nations Office and specialized institutions in Geneva and focused on the importance of a minority rights approach in combating radicalization and violent extremism. Participants in the event also explored ways in which minority inclusion and participation in all aspects of public life could be an effective approach in combating violence and hate speech. 3