Human Rights Council

Twent y- f if th session

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil , political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

25/5.Mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, adopted by consensus by the General Assembly inits resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992,

Taking into consideration article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other relevant existing international standards and national legislation,

Recalling all previous resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including Assembly resolution 68/172 of 18December2013, Commission resolution 2005/79 of 21 April 2005, and Council resolutions 7/6 of 27 March 2008 and 16/6 of 24 March 2011 on the mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues,

Recalling alsothe paragraphs in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action relating to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,

Emphasizing the need for reinforced efforts to meet the goal of the full realization of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including by addressing their economic and social conditions and marginalization, as well as to end any type of discrimination against them,

Emphasizing also the importance of recognizing and addressing multiple, aggravated and intersecting forms of discrimination against persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and the compounded negative impact on the enjoyment of their rights,

Emphasizing further the fundamental importance of human rights education, training and learning, as well as of dialogue, including intercultural and interfaith dialogue, and interaction among all relevant stakeholders and members of society on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities as an integral part of the development of society as a whole, including the sharing of best practices, such as for the promotion of mutual understanding of minority issues, managing diversity by recognizing plural identities and promoting inclusive and stable societies, as well as social cohesion therein,

Stressing that due consideration should be given to the rights and situation of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in the elaboration of post-2015 development agendas and in future development goals,

Recalling its resolutions 5/1, on institution-building of the Human Rights Council, and 5/2, on the Code of Conduct for Special Procedures Mandate Holders of the Council, of 18 June 2007, and stressing that the mandate holder shall discharge his/her duties in accordance with those resolutions and the annexes thereto,

1.Takes note of the report of the Independent Expert on minority issues and its special focus on the inclusion of minority issues in post-2015 development agendas;

2.Takes note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

3.Commends the Independent Expert for the work undertaken to date, for the important role that she has played in raising the level of awareness of and in giving added visibility to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, for her ongoing efforts to promote and protect their rights in order to ensure equitable development and peaceful and stable societies, including through close cooperation with Governments, relevant United Nations bodies and mechanisms and non-governmental organizations, and for her guiding role in the preparation and work of the Forum on Minority Issues, which contributes to efforts to improve cooperation among all United Nations mechanisms relating to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

4.Expresses its appreciation to Governments and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as to other relevant stakeholders, that have given special attention to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and have supported the work of the Independent Expert;

5.Takes note of the completion, in November 2013, of the sixth session of the Forum on Minority Issues, which addressed the rights of persons belonging to religious minorities and which, through the widespread participation of stakeholders, provided an important platform for promoting dialogue on this topic, and encourages States to take into consideration the relevant recommendations of the Forum;

6.Commends the Forum for its contribution to the efforts of the High Commissioner to improve cooperation and coordination among United Nations mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, funds and programmes on activities relating to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities;

7.Welcomes the establishment of the special fund for the participation of civil society and other relevant stakeholders in, inter alia, the Forum on Minority Issues, aiming to facilitate the broadest possible participation of civil society representatives and other relevant stakeholders, with particular attention being paid to participants from least developed countries;

8.Also w elcomes the inter-agency cooperation of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes on minority issues, in particular through the United Nations network on racial discrimination and protection of minorities, coordinated by the Office of the High Commissioner, and urges them to increase their cooperation further by, inter alia, sharing knowledge and developing policies on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, drawing also on relevant recommendations of the Forum;

9.Invites the human rights treaty bodies and special procedures of the Human Rights Council to continue to payattention, within their respective mandates, to the situation and rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and, in this regard, to take into consideration relevant recommendations of the Forum;

10.Reaffirms that the universal periodic review and the United Nations human rights treaty bodies constitute important mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and, in that regard, calls upon States to effectively follow up on accepted universal periodic review recommendations relating to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and encourages States parties to give serious consideration to the follow-up to treaty body recommendations on the matter;

11.Decides to extend the mandate of the current mandate holder as a Special Rapporteur on minority issues for a period of three years, and requests the Special Rapporteur:

(a)To promote the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, including through consultations with Governments, taking into account existing international standards and national legislation concerning minorities;

(b)To examine ways and means of overcoming existing obstacles to the full and effective realization of the rights of persons belonging to minorities;

(c)To identify best practices and possibilities for technical cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, at the request of Governments;

(d)To apply a gender perspective in his/her work;

(e)To cooperate and coordinate closely, while avoiding duplication, with existing relevant United Nations bodies, mandates and mechanisms and with regional organizations;

(f)To take into account the views of and cooperate closely with non-governmental organizations on matters pertaining to his/her mandate;

(g)To guide the work of the Forum on Minority Issues, prepare its annual meetings, to report on its thematic recommendations and to make recommendations for future thematic subjects, as decided by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012;

(h)To submit an annual report on his/her activities to the Human Rights Council and to the General Assembly, including recommendations for effective strategies for the better implementation of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

12.Calls upon all States to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated to him/her, to provide the mandate holder with all the necessary information requested and to seriously consider responding promptly and favourably to the request of the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries in order to enable him/her to fulfil his/her duties effectively;

13.Encourages specialized agencies, regional organizations, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations to develop and maintain regular dialogue and cooperation with the mandate holder, as well as to continue to contribute to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

14.Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to provide all the human, technical and financial assistance necessary for the effective fulfilment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur;

15.Decides to continue its consideration of this issue in accordance with its annual programme of work.

54 th meeting

27 March 2014

[Adopted without a vote.]