October 13, 2021
The representative of the SAMR Mr. Vladislav Neledva took part in European Regional Forum on the topic “Conflict Prevention and the Protection of the Human Rights of Minorities” which was was held on 12th and 13th October 2021 .
The Regional Forum was initiated by the United Nation Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues and organized by the Tom Lantos Institute in cooperation with a number of regional organizations.
The meeting was held via the Zoom conferencing platform.
The main purpose of the European Regional Forum on “Conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities” is to provide regional insights, which will feed into the thematic work of the Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues for his report to the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council in March 2022. Furthermore, discussions will inform the work and recommendations of the 14th session of the Forum on Minority Issues, which will take place in Geneva in December 2021.
Discussions were also focused on the development of mutual understanding on the role of minority rights protection in conflict prevention; the legal, institutional and political challenges related to the recognition and implementation of minority rights in order to address longstanding problems that can lead to tensions and possible conflicts.
At the end of the forum, the speakers expressed their valuable recommendations for solving discussed problems, which will subsequently be summarized by the organizers. The final list of recommendations will be handed to UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Fernand de Varennes for presentation at the Forum on Minority Issues, which is supposed to be held in Geneva December this year.
