A/HRC/16/39 issues and to examine the human rights situation of minority groups living in those countries. The independent expert will present a report containing her full findings and recommendations on both visits to the Human Rights Council at its sixteenth session. 62. In her preliminary note on the mission to Columbia (A/HRC/13/23/Add.3), the independent expert reported that, several times in the course of her visit, minority afroColombians expressed the conviction that they felt statistically “invisible”, that their concerns were ignored, their lives were less valued and that Government policies dedicated to their needs were not achieving the desired improvement to their situations. 63. In a statement delivered upon the conclusion of her visit, the independent expert found that, in Viet Nam, persons belonging to minority groups made up the largest segment of the country’s poor. She noted that the acknowledgment of the economic and social gaps existing between the minority communities and the majority population was an important step towards putting into place the measures required to close those gaps. Another important concern was the lack of opportunity offered to minorities to be taught in their own languages. 64. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 63/174, the independent expert submitted an initial report to the Assembly at its sixty-fifth session (A/65/287) . In the report, she drew attention once again to the protection of minority rights as a means to prevent conflict. In particular, she underscored the need to address violations at an early stage before they lead to tensions and violence. Both history and current events showed that the violation of minority rights tends to spread and expand, reaching levels of systematic and at times gross violations. 65. In her report, the independent expert provided an analysis of different aspects of the problem. One of great importance was connected to early warning systems and mechanisms. Human rights violations causing grievances were indicators that should not be ignored. The independent expert concluded that the essential elements of a strategy to prevent conflict involving minorities included respect for minority rights, dialogue between minorities and majorities within societies, and the constructive development of practices and institutional arrangements to accommodate diversity within society. B. Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography 66. In her report submitted to the General Assembly (A/65/221), the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography described the activities undertaken from September 2009 to July 2010 in the discharge of her mandate. In the context of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the Special Rapporteur focused on the remaining challenges and that actions that could be taken to address them. In this regard, she highlighted the fact that children of minorities had less access to basic social services and protections and were more vulnerable to sale, trafficking and sexual exploitation. As part of her recommendations, the Special Rapporteur proposed several protection systems that could better safeguard the best interests of the child. 14