A/HRC/46/44 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 28 December 2020 Original: English Human Rights Council Forty-sixth session 22 February–19 March 2021 Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report, covering the period from 1 January to 31 December 2020, is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 43/8. It contains information on relevant developments concerning United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms, and on the activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) that contribute to the promotion of and respect for the provisions of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and the provisions of relevant international human rights treaties. The report concludes, inter alia, that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a broad range of disproportionate and adverse negative impacts upon minorities. It recommends that States act with a sense of urgency to improve the protection of minorities as the pandemic unfolds and in their efforts to build back better and strengthen the mechanisms for dialogue to ensure the effective participation of minorities in decisions that affect them. GE.20-17771(E)