GENEVA (25 November 2019) – The voices of minorities from around the world will be the focus of the 12th United Nations Forum on Minority Issues to be held in Geneva on 28-29 November.

Guided by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Fernand de Varennes, and co-chaired by minority rights experts Anastasia Crickley and Astrid Thors, more than 500 participants from governments, the UN, intergovernmental, national and regional organisations, and civil society will discuss and recommend ways to protect and promote the rights of linguistic minorities in the area of education, which is one of the thematic priorities of the Special Rapporteur.

This year's agenda will focus on:

• Human rights and minority language education.
• Public policy objectives for education in, and the teaching of, minority languages.
• Effective practices for education in, and the teaching of, minority languages.
• Language, education and the empowerment of minority women and girls.

The two-day discussion will help the Special Rapporteur frame recommendations to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council in March 2020.

The Forum is open to media, and interviews can be arranged with forum participants.

For more information about the programme and participating speakers and organisations, please visit:

https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Minority/Pages/Session12.aspx

ENDS

Background: Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/15 of 28 September 2007 renewed by resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012, a forum on minority issues has been established to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as well as thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues. The Forum shall identify and analyze best practices, challenges, opportunities and initiatives for the further implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

The Forum meets annually for two working days allocated to thematic discussions. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Mr Fernand de Varennes, is tasked to guide the work of the Forum, prepare its annual meetings and report on the thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Human Rights Council.

Fernand de Varennes was appointed as UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues by the Human Rights Council in June 2017. He is tasked by the UN Human Rights Council, to promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, among other things.

The Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures' experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

For additional information and media requests please contact:

Jeremy J Laurence, Media Officer, at +41 22 9179383 / Jlaurence@ohchr.org

or the Forum Secretariat at: +41 22 917 9181 / minorityforum@ohchr.org).