A/80/186 17. On 2 July, the Special Rapporteur spoke at the Human Rights Council side event organized by the Next Century Foundation on the theme “Protecting minorities in a future Syria”. 18. On 3 July, the Special Rapporteur spoke at the Human Rights Council side event organized by the International Yazidis Foundation for the Prevention of Genocide on the theme “Protecting minority identity in conflict zones: lessons learned from Iraq and beyond”. 19. On 7 and 8 July, the Special Rapporteur presented the achievements of and challenges faced by his mandate at the Global Minority Rights summer school hosted by the Tom Lantos Institute. 20. On 17 July, the Special Rapporteur delivered a keynote address at a briefing for the Congress of the United States of America in Washington, D.C., on the challenges facing religious minorities in India. A. Country visits 21. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues was scheduled to visit Iraq from 15 to 23 June 2025. The visit was postponed following the closure of Iraq airspace as the result of the aggression committed by Israel on 12 and 13 June against the Islamic Republic of Iran, in violation of Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Charter of the United Nations. The Special Rapporteur nevertheless thanks the Iraqi authorities, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq, the United Nations country team and civil society partners, which spared no efforts to schedule the visit. The Special Rapporteur is in contact with the Iraqi authorities and has reiterated his commitment to reaching an agreement on a mutually acceptable date for a future visit. 22. A country visit to Nepal is scheduled to take place from 6 to 17 October 2025, as agreed with the Nepalese authorities. The Special Rapporteur looks forward to cooperating with the Government of Nepal in that regard. B. Communications 23. In 2024, a total of 38 communications were sent by the Special Rapporteur on minority issues. Of those, 7 were urgent appeals and 31 were letters of allegation. All of the communications were sent jointly with other special procedures mandate holders. With regard to geographical distribution, 2 of the communications were for the Africa region, 23 for the Asia-Pacific region, 5 for Western Europe and 8 for others, including private companies. 24. From 1 January to 30 June 2025, the Special Rapporteur and other special procedures mandate holders jointly sent a total of 30 communications. Of those, 6 were urgent appeals, 18 were letters of allegation and 6 were letters commenting on and raising concerns about specific legislation, policies and practices. With regard to geographical distribution, 4 of the communications were for the Africa region, 17 fo r the Asia-Pacific region, 3 for Eastern Europe, 1 for Latin America and the Caribbean and 5 for Western Europe and North America. C. Forum on Minority Issues 25. The seventeenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues was held on 28 and 29 November 2024 in Geneva. The theme was “The representation and selfrepresentation of minorities in public spaces and discourses ”. The event brought 25-11708 5/21