A/HRC/22/49
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
31 December 2012
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Twenty-second session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Report of the Independent Expert on minority
issues, Rita Izsák
Summary
The present report provides an update on the activities conducted by the Independent
Expert on minority issues since the submission of her previous report. The mandate holder
provides a summary of her activities, including to mark the twentieth anniversary of the
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and
Linguistic Minorities in 2012, and an update on the work of the Forum on Minority Issues,
the annual session of which the mandate is required to guide and prepare.
The rights of linguistic minorities are established in international human rights
standards, including the 1992 Declaration on Minorities. However, challenges to the
enjoyment of the rights of linguistic minorities exist in all regions and include restrictions
on the opportunities available to linguistic minorities to learn and receive education for
their children in minority languages, and limitations on the use of minority languages in
public life and the media. Globally many minority languages are under threat of significant
decline or disappearance due to such factors as the dominance of national and international
languages, processes of assimilation, and decline in minority-language users. The report
contains a consideration of issues and challenges affecting linguistic minorities globally
and conclusions and recommendations of the Independent Expert.
GE.13-10019