RES/13/12 Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities

GE.10- 12859

Human Rights Council Thirteenth 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*

13/12 Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and bearing in mind article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other relevant existing international standards and national legislation,

Recalling also all previous resolutions on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities adopted by the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Council, including Council resolutions 6/15 of 28 September 2007 and 7/6 of 27 March 2008,

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,

Stressing that the lack of equal opportunities and equal access to education for many persons belonging to minorities, in particular minority children, prevents them from contributing fully to their own communities and to the wider society, and perpetuates the cycle of poverty experienced acutely by persons belonging to minorities facing discrimination, economic marginalization and social exclusion,

Stressing also that the effective participation of persons belonging to minorities in national political, cultural, religious, economic and social processes of their societies is of paramount importance for their full and equal enjoyment of all human rights, and

* The resolutions and decisions of the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the

Council on its thirteenth session (A/HRC/13/56), chap. I.

contributes to the alleviation of tensions, serves the purpose of conflict prevention and increases stability and social cohesion,

1. Urges States to review, enact and amend their legislation, where necessary, as well as their educational policies and systems, to ensure the realization of the right to education, as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to eliminate discrimination and to provide for equal access to quality education for persons belonging to minorities, in particular minority children, while protecting their identity, as enshrined in the Declaration, and promoting integration, social inclusion and a prosperous and stable society;

2. Also urges States to develop appropriate mechanisms for effective participation of and consultation with persons belonging to minorities in order to take into account their views in decision-making processes affecting them, with a view to promoting greater participation in the political processes of the country and providing inclusive, informed and sustainable policymaking and implementation;

3. Welcomes the successful completion of the first two sessions of the Forum on Minority Issues addressing the right to education and the right to effective political participation and which, through the widespread participation of stakeholders, provided an important platform for promoting dialogue on these topics, and as part of its outcome identified in its recommendations best practices and challenges for the further implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and encourages States to take into consideration, as appropriate, relevant recommendations of the Forum;

4. Commends the independent expert on minority issues 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, 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 minorities;

5. Takes note of the reports of the independent expert (A/HRC/10/11 and A/HRC/13/23) and of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/9/8, A/HRC/10/38 and A/HRC/10/38 Add.1) providing, inter alia, an overview of minority-related activities of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and other United Nations mechanisms, such as the treaty bodies and the special procedures;

6. Welcomes the inter-agency cooperation of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes on minority issues, led by the Office of the High Commissioner, and urges them to further increase their cooperation by, inter alia, developing policies on the promotion and protection of rights of persons belonging to minorities, drawing also on relevant outcomes of the meetings of the Forum;

7. Invites the human rights treaty bodies and special procedures of the Council to continue to give attention, within their respective mandates, to the situations and rights of persons belonging to minorities and, in this regard, to take into consideration relevant recommendations of the Forum;

8. Requests the High Commissioner to present an annual report to the Council containing information on relevant developments of United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms, as well as on the activities undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner at Headquarters and in the field that contribute to the promotion of and respect for the provisions of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities;

9. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a compilation of existing manuals, guides, training material and other tools dealing with minority issues by various United Nations entities, and to present the compilation to the Council at its sixteenth session;

10. Requests the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner to continue to provide all the human, technical and financial assistance necessary for the effective fulfilment of the mandate of the independent expert and for the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner in the area of rights of persons belonging to minorities;

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

42nd meeting 25 March 2010

[Adopted without a vote]