The Council of Europe participated in this year’s Forum on “The contribution of minorities to diverse, resilient, and peaceful societies” on 27 and 28 November 2025 in Geneva. 

In her intervention under session 1 on “Building trust and social cohesion: addressing barriers to peaceful coexistence”, the Head of the Council of Europe Division on National Minorities and Minority Languages, Elise Cornu, stressed that the protection of national minorities is essential for human rights, for democracy and, ultimately, for peace. She emphasised that an approach that encourages respect, understanding and tolerance for minority languages, histories and cultures, that acknowledges multiple perspectives in history teaching and research and promotes intercultural dialogue is key to building inclusive and cohesive societies in which diversity is understood as a richness and strength. 

Meetings were held on this occasion with the UN Special Representative on Minority Issues, Nicolas Levrat, and the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Christophe Kamp.

Read the entire intervention (in French only)