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 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.