UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues Publishes Report Outlining Priorities for Mandate

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Prof Nicolas Levrat, submitted his first report to the Human Rights Council in February 2024. In addition to giving an overview of the activities of the previous Special Rapporteur, Dr Fernand de Varennes, in 2023 and reporting on the 2023 UN Forum on Minority Issues, the report also details the specific and thematic priorities Levrat has set for his mandate.

Levrat has set seven specific priorities for his mandate, including: 1) the protection and promotion of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities; 2) better integration of minority issues in United Nations activities and the international community more broadly; 3) consolidation of the forums in which minority voices are heard, including the continuation of the regional forums on minority issues and calling for a one-day extension to the UN Forum on Minority Issues; 4) coordination and cooperation with other human rights mechanisms relevant to the protection of persons belonging to minorities; 5) establishment of a permanent funding scheme for minorities to ensure their meaningful participation in UN activities; 6) strengthening the interaction of the mandate with the Minorities Fellowship Programme and the network of former minority fellows; 7) development of a global academic network on minority issues.

In addition to these specific priorities, in the report, Levrat also identifies thematic issues he envisages will be covered in future reports. These include 1) a mapping of minority issues to feed the thematic outlook for regional minority forums; 2) identity issues and how they relate to minority issues; 3) representation of minorities in national societies; 4) political organization of States on the situation of minorities; 5) linkage between existing diasporas and minority issues; 6) mapping of activities and documents related to minority issues in the UN multilateral system; 8) inclusion of minority issues in the post-2030 agenda; and 9) Article 8(4) of the UNDM.

The full report of the Special Rapporteur can be found here: https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/g24/013/31/pdf/g2401331.pdf?token=EQpDJ3AjUxrc5LWDlQ&fe=true