EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Mr. Nicolas Levrat

Mr. Special Rapporteur, we thank you for your report and for your continued dedication to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. We also commend your engagement with regional organisations and mechanisms across all continents, which reflects the universal relevance of your mandate. Within the EU, the Charter of Fundamental Rights guides policy development and ensures coherence between internal and external human rights policies.

We share the view that minority protection is vital to social cohesion, democratic values and the prevention of conflict. The European Union shares the best experience and practices in this regard. Yet persons belonging to minorities continue to face discrimination, often on multiple and intersecting grounds, as well as violence, hate speech and hate crimes, and may still be denied full and effective participation in the life of their societies. The strong participation in the eighteenth session of the Forum on Minority Issues is therefore an encouraging sign of sustained engagement by States, national human rights institutions and civil society.

We share your concern that the protection of minorities abroad continues to be invoked as a pretext for unilateral action against neighbouring States, up to and including the use of force. This has most notably been done by the Russian Federation as a way to justify its illegal armed aggression against Ukraine. As your report rightly recalls, no alleged violation of minority rights can justify conduct contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter, in particular the territorial integrity and political independence of States.

We concur that bilateral, regional or multilateral cooperation, in full conformity with the Charter, remains the appropriate avenue for addressing minority issues. We also take note of your call for the legitimate interests of persons belonging to minorities to be reflected in the post-2030 development agenda.

In this regard, we would be grateful for your views on two points. First, following your recent exchanges with regional human rights bodies in Europe, Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean, what concrete steps do you intend to take to strengthen information-sharing between your mandate and these bodies, and how could such exchanges help States benefit from good practices developed in other regions? Second, you call for minority issues to be mainstreamed across the United Nations system as a development, security and human rights matter alike. Which entities do you consider best placed to lead this effort within existing resources?