From the 12 until 13 October 2021 UNITED had the opportunity to join the European Regional Forum on Conflict Prevention and the Protection of the Human Rights of Minorities convened by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues and organized by the Tom Lantos Institute. All the participants were welcomed by the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Dr. Fernand de Varennes.
The forum sought to gather a better understanding on the prevention of conflict in minority populations. Due to years of limited minority representation, ineffective participation, increased stigmatization and conflict between minorities and local authorities the forum set out with four objectives:
- Substantive root causes of contemporary conflicts involving minorities
- Normative framework: the human rights of minorities and conflict prevention
- Obstacles to implementing the rights of minorities and early effective conflict prevention
- Ways towards addressing gaps in human rights mechanisms to protect minorities and prevent conflicts
The first day was allocated to hearing problems being faced in various regions (including interventions and recommendations) and the second day was primarily devoted to proposed solutions. The forum concluded with the reading of the recommendations, which can be found on the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues’ website.
Thank you very much to the Tom Lantos Institute and their many partners for organizing this session, that was all in all well executed and informative. The objectives were made clear and the intentions seemed genuine and approached with much compassion.
The event was streamed online and can be found on Youtube.
