A/HRC/58/34 15. In Kyrgyzstan, the OHCHR Regional Office for Central Asia supported the Ministry of Interior Academy in developing and adopting a curriculum for police officers on inter-ethnic relations and social cohesion. 16. OHCHR has become one of the key stakeholders in the implementation and in monitoring the impact of the European Union Anti-Racism Action Plan 2020–20258 and in the design of the post-2025 European Union anti-racism strategy. In August, in the context of the International Day for People of African Descent, the OHCHR Regional Office for Europe, in collaboration with the European Public Health Alliance, held an event which led to a set of recommendations for the forthcoming post-2025 European Union anti-racism strategy to the European Commission Coordinator on combating racism.9 17. OHCHR advocacy at the European Union level for the meaningful participation of people of African descent and Roma has led to European Union partner institutions referring to and increasingly putting into practice a human rights-based approach to policy implementation and offering more opportunities for the participation of minorities during European Union-led policy events. The OHCHR Regional Office for Europe has also successfully advocated for the use at the European Union level of the OHCHR indicators framework10 as a basis for monitoring and measuring the level of implementation of human rights in Europe. The framework was adopted by the Human Rights Cities Network in September and by Dutch municipalities in November. It is also being increasingly referenced by the European Commission Coordinator on combating racism, as well as in the context of implementation of the Roma Strategic Framework. OHCHR has consistently advocated for the effective adoption and use of human right indicators to monitor the impact of the European Commission strategies and actions on combating racism, including Islamophobia and antisemitism. 18. In Thailand, discussions are ongoing regarding legislative recognition and the protection of ethnic minority rights in the context of the draft Act on Protection and Promotion of the Way of Life of Ethnic Groups being developed by the Special Committee of the House of Representatives. The OHCHR Regional Office for South-East Asia submitted a written contribution, upon the Committee’s request, advocating for the Act’s alignment with international norms and standards. 19. Since 2022, OHCHR has organized on an annual basis the International Contest for Minority Artists,11 in partnership with Freemuse, Minority Rights Group International and the city of Geneva. The aim of the contest is to support minority artists committed to defending human rights around the world. In 2024, the third edition of the contest focused on the theme “Memory in the present”, giving visibility to the narratives, histories and memories expressed through the arts by minority individuals and communities. In November, the laureates of this year’s contest came to Geneva for a week of activities on arts and human rights, including the awards ceremony and the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues. 20. OHCHR also expanded efforts to increase the visibility of work of minority artist human rights defenders by organizing a six-week public exhibition featuring a selection of artworks of the 22 laureates of the 2022–2024 editions of the contest, in partnership with the Centre des arts of the International School of Geneva. 21. OHCHR is currently scaling up its support for minority artist human rights defenders worldwide through the Minority Artists for Human Rights Initiative, 12 a global action initiative and platform involving education, integration with civil society, partnerships and awareness-raising in different regions of the world, and bringing together local authorities 8 9 10 11 12 GE.25-00006 See https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamentalrights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/eu-anti-racism-action-plan-2020-2025_en. See https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamentalrights/combatting-discrimination/racism-and-xenophobia/commissions-coordinator-combatingracism_en. See www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-and-mechanisms/human-rights-indicators. See www.ohchr.org/en/minorities/minority-artists-voice-and-dissidence. See www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/minorities/Brochure-Development-Plan2024-2025-ENG.pdf. 5