The Forum on Minority Issues was established to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to national or ethnic, religious, and linguistic minorities, as well as thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues.

The Fifteenth session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues was convened on 1 and 2 December 2022 pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 6/15 of 28 September 2007 and resolution 19/23 of 23 March 2012.

The theme of the Fifteenth session of the Forum was ” Review. Rethink. Reform. 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Minority Rights “. The Forum analyzed practices, challenges, opportunities, and initiatives in addressing conflict prevention and the protection of the human rights of minorities, in line with the principles and rights enshrined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious, and Linguistic Minorities and other relevant international instruments.

The Forum on Minority Issues meets annually for two working days allocated to thematic discussions. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues guides the work of the Forum, prepares its annual meetings, and reports on the thematic recommendations of the Forum to the Human Rights Council. The recommendations of the Fifteenth session will be presented at the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council, in March 2023.

In this context, Attalaki was represented by Mr. Mahjoub Daadaa in his capacity as its Executive Director during the Forum. Attalaki received support from Minority Rights Group International to have representation during the UNFMI.

Mr. Daadaa delivered during his participation in the Forum a statement tackling the current issues religious minorities face in Tunisia, as well as a call for cooperation with the government institutions and all relevant parties to work on promoting religious minorities and their accessibility to their basic rights. The statement was delivered during the fifth item of the work agenda of the Forum on Minority issues titled “Open dialogue: Urgent situations faced by minorities.” His statement also included recommendations addressed to national authorities that address contemporary issues faced by minorities and how to tackle them to achieve social egalitarianism between diverse religious groups. The recommendations are as follows:

• Work to achieve full equality between citizens, especially granting licenses to the Christian, Baha’i, and Shiite communities for places of worship and cemeteries.
• Seriously address all calls for hatred, discrimination, and incitement to violence based on religion and belief, and take all necessary legal measures to deter such manifestations.

Mr. Daadaa has also met with Mr. Fernand de Varennes, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, and had a discussion on the status quo of religious freedom and religious minority rights in Tunisia as well as to the approaches adopted by Attalaki to work on securing the rights of religious minorities.

The participation in the Forum falls within Attalaki’s interests in advocating for the Freedom of Religion and Belief and religious minority advocacy on an international scale. Attalaki wants to shed lights on the emergency of the situation of religious minorities in Tunisia, the necessity of incorporating all religious group within the social dynamics, and emphasize on its commitment to providing continuous support for all religious segments.