On 16-20 May 2022, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities held its 75th plenary meeting in a hybrid mode with part of its members present in Strasbourg and the others joining remotely via videoconference. The Advisory Committee adopted on 18 May its final opinions on the implementation of the Convention by North Macedonia and Slovenia, which will become public in late September, once the government comments, if any, received. On 19 May it approved its draft opinion on the implementation of the Convention by Italy and on 20 May the draft opinion on Armenia, both of which will now undergo a confidential dialogue phase with the states parties concerned before being examined again and adopted at the forthcoming October plenary session.

The Advisory Committee also approved a draft outline for 6th cycle state reports, which will be submitted as of January 2023. The suggested guidelines and structure will now need to be examined and approved by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers before being made available to states parties.

On 19 May, the Committee adopted its 13th biennial activity report, covering the period 1 June 2020 – 31 May 2022. The report will be published once it has been presented to the Committee of Ministers in late September. Moreover, on 20 May, the Advisory Committee adopted a statement on condemning the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine (to be published soon).

Furthermore, on 18 May, the Committee held an exchange of views with representatives of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). Mr. Sven-Erik Soosaar, UNPFII member nominated by governments, introduced the work of the Permanent Forum, before Ms. Anne Nuorgam, Vice-Chair of the UNPFII and member nominated by the Indigenous Peoples’ organisations, presented international and domestic standards for the protection of Sami People in Europe. The Advisory Committee experts and UNPFII members then exchanged views on the situation of national minorities and Indigenous Peoples' rights in Europe and agreed to further explore possibilities for co-operation.