E/CN.4/2001/0063 page 44 175. The Preparatory Committee held its first meeting from 20 to 22 November 2000 at the Palais Wilson in Geneva. The Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, representing the High Commissioner, attended the opening meeting. The Committee worked on the basis of a dossier prepared by the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance containing the following documents: composition of the preparatory committee; the agenda; a project brief; a trilingual brochure on the conference; draft rules of procedure; draft final document; a study prepared by the Special Rapporteur for the World Conference against Racism entitled “Racial discrimination, religious intolerance and education”; and a study carried out under the Special Rapporteur’s guidance entitled “The role of religious education in the pursuit of tolerance and non-discrimination”. 176. The Preparatory Committee adopted the draft rules of procedure and the first version of the draft final document after two readings. The Committee also held a preliminary discussion on the list of conference participants and decided to invite as observers all States Members of the United Nations, relevant United Nations bodies (the Secretariat, specialized agencies, UNESCO Chairs in the field of human rights and interfaith dialogue, treaty and non-treaty human rights bodies), regional organizations of a general nature, regional organizations with an educational and cultural focus, national and regional human rights institutions and national human rights commissions. The Committee also decided to consider the participation of experts, religious and faith-based communities and NGOs at its second session, which will be held from 11 to 13 June 2001 in Spain. 177. At the conclusion of the Preparatory Committee’s work on 23 November 2000, the Special Rapporteur and the Spanish Ambassador held a press conference to report on the progress of the preparations. In order to ensure publicity for the conference, steps have been taken to post useful information on the Web site of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. 178. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the High Commissioner for Human Rights for her active cooperation with respect to this conference. She has redoubled her efforts to raise the profile of the conference with her interlocutors, particularly during her field visits. 179. Information and leaflets are available from the conference secretariat: Tel.: (004122) 917 9332, 917 9101, 917 9163; Fax: (004122) 917 9006; e-mail: pgillibert.hchr@unog.ch, gpassarelli.hchr@unog.ch, or eippoliti.hchr@unog.ch IV. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 180. Based on the communications he has received, the Special Rapporteur has been able to undertake a general survey of the situation in the field of religion and belief in accordance with and under the terms of his mandate. 181. First and foremost, such an analysis clearly highlights the situation of minorities in terms of the principles of tolerance and non-discrimination in the field of religion and belief. The concept of a minority, although not really defined in international law, which merely refers to categories such as national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (see the Declaration on the