Joint statement in support of the Independent Expert on Minority Issues

2nd Session of the Human Rights Council (18th September - 6th October 2006)

Joint statement by:
Minority Rights Group International,
IMADR,
Pax Romana,
Baha'i International,
International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and Other Minorities

We wish to thank the Independent Expert on Minority Issues for her comprehensive report on the important work she has carried out in the course of the past year

The mandate of the Independent Expert is essential for addressing minority rights violations and providing a holistic perspective at the positive value of minority inclusion. As the member states are aware, no other UN special procedure mandate has a comprehensive minority rights approach and the mandate of the independent expert is crucial to filling this gap.

The work of the independent expert is essential to strengthening the implementation of the legal framework for the protection and promotion of minority rights which remains inadequate in many countries.

In this respect, we particularly welcome the constructive consultation process the Independent Expert has initiated with some governments through her communications and country visits. We commend in particular the government of the Republic of Hungary for being the first to extend the invitation for a country visit which happened this past June. The benefits of such dialogue are multiple and we urge other member states to follow suit.

The cooperation the Independent Expert has established with the different regional mechanisms for the protection of minority rights is bound to lead to the strengthening of their implementation. At the same time, it makes her work in those regions which have no such regional mechanism all the more important.

In the light of the tremendous contribution her mandate is making to the ultimate achievement of full respect for minority rights, we urge the Council to make the mandate of the Independent Expert on Minority Issues permanent. Ms McDougall's participation at the just concluded 12th session of the Working Group on Minorities was welcomed by the participating NGOs. In this respect, we would be interested to know what aspects of the work of the Working Group has the Independent Expert found most useful for her own work?

Representatives of the minority civil society appreciated that opportunity and would like to reiterate that the complementarity of the mandates of the two bodies and their activities for the protection of minorities have been highly welcome and it is crucial that both be preserved.

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