Oral statements delivered at the inaugural session of the Forum

Forum on Minority Issues

Inaugural Session of the Forum on Minority Issues 15 and 16 December 2008

Oral statements delivered at the Forum - as received from participants

Item I – Introduction
Mr. Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi	Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the UN President of the Human Rights Council
Ms. Gay McGougall	Independent Expert on Minority Issues
Ms. Viktória Mohácsi	Chairperson of the Forum on Minority Issues
Ms. Navanethem Pillay	High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Nicholas Burnett	Assistant-Director General for Education, UNESCO – video message
Item II – International and Regional Human Rights Frameworks and Core Principles
Mr. Vernor Muñoz Villalobos	Special Rapporteur on the right to education
Mr. Patrick Thornberry	Rapporteur Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Item III – Essential Requirements for an Effective Education Strategy
Invited experts
Ms. Diane Abbott	Member of the Parliament - United Kingdom of Great Britain
Mr. Renato Ferreira	Coordinator, Program on Policies of Color in Brazilian Education , Center for Public Policies at the University of Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
Mr. Yusuf Sayed	Senior Researcher, University of Sussex - UK Human Sciences Research Council - South Africa
Mr. Mark Lattimer	Director, Minority Rights Group – UK
Ms. Marselha Gonçalves-Margerin	Advocacy Director, Centre for Human Rights, Robert F. Kennedy Memorial – USA
Mr. Daniel Losen	Senior Education Law and Policy Associate, Civil Rights Project, University of California, Los Angeles (ACLU) – USA
Mr. Kishore Singh	Senior Programme Specialist for the right to education, UNESCO
Participants
Mr. Lothar Krappmann	Member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child
Mr. Brooks Robinson	Black Economics Organization, USA
Ms. Yasuko Morooka	Japanese Network towards Human Rights Legislation for Non-nationals and Ethnic Minorities
Ms. Jee-Won BAE	Korean International Network
Mr. Manpreet Singh	OHCHR Minority Fellow
Mr. Pavlos Voskopoulos	Rainbow-Macedonian Minority in Greece
Ms. Cecile Molinier	UNDP Geneva Director
Mr. Molu Koropu Tepo	Garba Tulla Development Organization, Kenya (affiliated with Minority Rights Group)
Ms. Milena Klajner	Croatia, Head of Government Office for National Minorities
H. E. Fuad Nimani	Minister of Human and Minority Rights Protection of Montenegro
Mr Jian Badrakhan	Yasa e. v. Kurdish Centre for Legal Studies and Consultancy-Germany
Permanent Mission	Austria
Ms. Vismal Thorat	NCDHR-India (affiliated with Minority Rights Group)
Mr. Melek Kirmaci	Federation of Western Thrace Turks in Europe
Ms. Diane Ala’i	Baha’l International Community
Mr. Stefano Keller	Universal Esperanto Association
H. E. Istvan Lakatos	Human Rights Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary
Ms. Dubravka Simonovic	Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
Ms. Hasmik Simonyan	Third Secretary, Human Rights Desk, Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Armenia
Permanent Mission	Canada
Permanent Mission	Slovenia
Permanent Mission	Greece
Permanent Mission	Slovakia
Mr. Wilton Littlechild	International Organization for Indigenous Resource Development, Canada
Ms. Seher Neoz	National Centre for Human Rights of the Kurd
Permanent Mission	Sweden
Permanent Mission	Syria
Item IV – Equal Access to Quality Education for Minorities
Invited experts
Mr. John Payton	President and Director-Counsel, National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People – Legal Defense Fund (NAACP - LDF) – USA
Ms. Eliane Cavalleiro	Coordinator, Unit on Diversity and Educational Inclusion of the Secretariat of Continuing Education, Literacy and Diversity at the Ministry of Education - Brazil
Mr. Nadir Redzepi	Board Member, Roma Education Fund – Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Ms. Anastasia Crickley	Personal Representative of the Chairman-in-Office on Combating Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination, OSCE
Mr. Biram Dah Abeid	Lawyer and researcher, Save Slave Organisation - Mauritania
Ms. Sawsan Zaher	Attorney, Adalah – the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – Israel
Mr. Peter Hyll-Larsen	Coordinator, Right to Education Project, Action Aid International – UK
Mr. Charles Masabo	Member of the Senate and Member of the Executive Committee of the organisation “Unissons-nous pour la promotion des Batwa – UNIPROBA” – Burundi
Ms. Helen Pinnock	Education Advisor, Save the Children – UK
Ms. Doris Angst	Director, Federal Commission Against Racism (FCR) – Switzerland
Participants
Ms. Barbara Wilson	Member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam	Member of the Committee on Migrant Workers
Item V – The Learning Environment and School Governance
Invited experts
Mr. Carlos de la Torre	Chair, Political Studies and Director of the Ph.D. Programme in Social Sciences, Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences FLACSO - Ecuador
Ms. Maisie Chin	Director, Community Asset Development Redefining Education (CADRE) - USA
Ms. Meghna Guhathakurta	Executive Director, Research Initiatives – Bangladesh
Mr. Dennis Parker	Director, Racial Justice Programme, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - USA
Ms. Bamo Ayi	Professor, Central University of Nationalities, Beijing - China
Ms. Anna Frangoudaki	University of Athens, Center of Intercultural Research and Pedagogic Intervention – Greece
Ms. Thalia Dragonas	Member of the Parliament, Coordinator of the Project on Muslim Minority in Thrace - Greece
Participants
Mr. Gidado Tahir	Head of the Department of Education, Abuja University – Nigeria
Mr. Sadeq Al Jubran	OHCHR Minority Fellow
Permanent Mission	Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Mr. Tzemil Kapza	Western Thrace Minority-University Graduates Association-Greece
Ms. Eunice Mariama	Reto Women Association of Kenya (affiliated with Minority Rights Group)
Mr. Aref Gabeau	Kurdish Centre for Legal Studies and Consultation
Ms. Aleksandra Bojadzieva	Sunse (affiliated with Minority Rights Group)
Mr. Roy Amarendra	Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities
Permanent Mission	Turkey
Permanent Mission	Mauritania
Mr. Mathiur Rahaman	Save the Children, Bangladesh
Mr. Pacifique Mukumba-Isumbisho	Réseau des Associations Autochtones Pygmées, DRC
Mr. Peter Hantz	Hungarian National Council of Transylvania
Ms. Kathryn Ramsay	Minority Rights Group International
Mr. Benon Mugaruna	African Indigenous and Minorities Organization, Rwanda (affiliated with Minority Rights Group)
Permanent Mission	Russian Federation
Permanent Mission	Greece
Mr. Baba Eliassi	Committee for Support of Kurdish Prisoners in Iraq
Mr. Caracota	Council of Macedon-Armans, Albania
Ms. Glennie King	All for Reparations and Emancipation
Mr. Tangi Louarn	European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages
Mr. Markku Jokinen	World Federation of the Deaf
H.E. Istvan Lakatos	Human Rights Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary

Item VI – The Relationship between De-Segregation Strategies, Cultural Autonomy and Integration in the Quest for Social Cohesion
Invited experts
Ms. Anurima Bhargava	National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People – Legal Defense Fund (NAACP - LDF)
Mr. Claude Cahn	Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions COHRE – Switzerland
Mr. Tahir Alam	Education Policy and Community Engagement Advisor for the Muslim Council of Britain – UK
Mr. Charles Russo	Joseph Panzer Chair in Education, School of Education and Allied Professions, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Law, University of Dayton – USA
Ms. Libia Grueso Castelblanco	Centre of Social Investigations, Universidad de los Andes – Colombia
Mr. Fernand de Varennes	Associate Professor, Murdoch University, Australia - Canada
Ms. Aleksandra Vujic	Voivodina Centre for Human Rights – Serbia
Mr. Mathura Tripura Bikash	Zabarang Kalyan Samity – Bangladesh
Mr. Aleksejs Dimitrovs	Legal Advisor on Fundamental Rights, Justice and Home Affairs, European Parliament - Latvia
Participants
Mr. Khalid Hussain	Al –Falah Bangladesh, OHCHR Minority Fellowship Programme
Ms. Mucha-Shim Quiling Arquiza	Secretary-General, Qalam, Asian Muslim Action Muslim Network in the Philippines (AMANPHIL) – Philippines
Mr. Priti Sarman	Association of World Citizen, Bangladesh
Mr. Edward Arocicia Doss	On Indian Minorities, India
Permanent Mission	Brazil
Mr. Tom Haden	Queens University Belfast
Permanent Mission	Islamic Republic of Iran
Permanent Mission	Armenia
Mr. Alfred Fernandez	International Organization for Right to Education and Freedom of Education (OIDEL)
Mrs. Le Guyader Nolwenn	Minister of Education, France
Permanent Mission	Mexico
Ms. Ana Elzy Ofreneo	Commission on Human Rights Philippines
Mr. Aleksandra Kuzmins	Human Rights Committee (NGO)
Ms. Annie Namala	NCDHR India (affiliated with Minority Rights Group)
H. E. Istvan Lakatos	Human Rights Ambassador, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungary
Mr. Wilton Littlechild	International Organization for Indigenous Resource Development, Canada
Mr. Brooks Robinson	Black Economics Organization, USA - [Statement \| Background paper]
Ms. Yasuko Morooka	Japanese Network towards Human Rights Legislation for Non-nationals and Ethnic Minorities
Permanent Mission	Austria
Ms. Helen Pinnock	Save the Children, UK
Mr. Pavlos Voskopoulos	Rainbow-Macedonian Minority in Greece
Ms. Nurcan Kaya	Minority Rights Group International
Permanent Mission	Greece
Mr. Mantsu	Council of Macedon Armans, Albania
Ms. Silis Muhammad	All for Reparations and Emancipation
Mr. Francesco Reale	Universal Esperanto Association
Ms. Mona Zulficar	Member of the Advisory Committee of the Human Rights Council
Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Armenia
Item VII – The Content and Delivery of the Curriculum
Invited experts
Mr. Bernard Gifford	Professor and Distinguished Resident Fellow, Southern Education Foundation – USA
Ms. Mucha Shim Quiling Arquiza	Secretary-General, Qalam, Asian Muslim Action Muslim Network in the Philippines (AMANPHIL) – Philippines
Mr. Marius Taba	Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Roma Education Fund - Hungary
Mr. Lal Perera	Director-General, National Institute of Education – Sri Lanka
Mr. Leonardo Reales	Coordinator International Human Right Committee, Afro-Colombian National Movement CIMARRON – Colombia / USA
Ms. Pamela MacKenzie	Education consultant, International Network for Development, India and Bangladesh – UK
Participants
Permanent Mission	Latvia
Mr. Mathura Bikash Tripura	Zabarang Kalyan Samity, Bangladesh
Mr. Sameer Hassan	OHCHR Minority Fellow
Mr. Nangiro Simon A.L.	Karamoja Agro Pastoralist Development Programme, Uganda
Mr. Sujan Barua	World Barua Organization, Switzerland
Ms. F. Zamani	Association for Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran
Ms. Nada Jakir	Ministry of Science, Education and Sports, Croatia
Permanent Mission	The Republic of Azerbaijan
Permanent Mission	Venezuela
Permanent Mission	Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Ms. Amina Osman	Education Specialist, UNICEF
Mr. Suman Barua	SRG Welfare Society Bangladesh
Ms. Annie Namala	Centre for Progamming Inclusion and Equity, India
Mr. Brooks Robinson	Black Economics Organization, USA
Ms. Genevieve Jourdan	Association of World Citizens
Mr. Wilton Littlechild	International Organization for Indigenous Resource Development, Canada
Mr. Samara	Council of Macedon Armans, Albania
Mr. Pavlos Voskopoulos	Rainbow-Macedonian Minority in Greece
Permanent Mission	Greece
Mr. Mats Wennerholm	Swedish National Agency for Education
Mr. Tangi Louarn	European Bureau for Lesser Used Languages
Permanent Mission	Slovakia
Mr. Taba Marius	Roma Education Fund, Hungary
Mr. Pervin Chairoula	Western Thrace Minority-University Graduates Association-Greece
Item VIII – Concluding Remarks
Ms. Gay McGougall	Independent Expert on Minority Issues
Ms. Anna Frangoudaki	University of Athens, Center of Intercultural Research and Pedagogic Intervention – Greece
Ms. Sawsan Zaher	Attorney, Adalah – the Legal Centre for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – Israel
Mr. Kishore Singh	Senior Programme Specialist for the right to education, UNESCO
Mr. Yusuf Sayed	Senior Researcher, University of Sussex - UK Human Sciences Research Council - South Africa
Ms. Bamo Ayi	Professor, Central University of Nationalities, Beijing - China
Mr. Biram Dah Abeid	Lawyer and researcher, Save Slave Organisation - Mauritania
Mr. Leonardo Reales	Coordinator International Human Right Committee, Afro-Colombian National Movement CIMARRON – Colombia / USA
Mr. Tahir Alam	Education Policy and Community Engagement Advisor for the Muslim Council of Britain – UK
Ms. Erica Daes	Professor, Expert on Minority Issues
Mr. Patrick Thornberry	Rapporteur Member of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Mr. Vernor Muñoz Villalobos	Special Rapporteur on the right to education
Ms. Viktória Mohácsi	Chairperson of the Forum on Minority Issues
Ms. Gay McGougall	Independent Expert on Minority Issues