A/HRC/31/27 I. Introduction 1. During the period under review, serious inter-ethnic and intercommunal tensions and conflicts were reported in every region of the world. In these contexts, persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, because of their religion or ethnicity, were often targeted and forced to flee their homes to escape violence, persecution, discrimination and exclusion. With millions of others, both minorities and majorities, they now are in search of safety and dignity. 2. The traditional and social media often fuel discrimination and violence through their advocacy of racial or religious hatred against ethnic and religious minorities, which has become a recurrent pattern. Limited access and representation of minorities in shared media spaces and increasingly organized forms of extremist movements all contribute to this situation. Political parties and politicians have a responsibility with regard to the diversity of the society that they represent. This requires codes of conduct to prohibit racist political platforms and internal party mechanisms, with the capacity to impose strict sanctions on candidates who violate the said codes of conduct. 3. The international community must remain vigilant in respect of issues relating to minorities. At a Security Council open debate held in March 2015 on the victims of attacks and abuses on ethnic or religious grounds in the Middle East, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stressed that the international community’s attention to the human rights of persons belonging to minorities was too often both partial and sporadic: partial, because States had often focused primarily on communities with whom they share specific cultural ties, thus overlooking abuses of other marginalized communities and dismissing concerns regarding discriminated groups in their own countries; sporadic, because the rights of persons belonging to minorities were often highlighted only after the outbreak of extreme violence – even though that eruption was virtually always preceded by years of exclusion, disregard for linguistic and religious rights, and obstacles to full participation in the political, social, cultural and economic life of the State. States that genuinely embrace the ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity of their societies fight against extremism. It was only by insisting on the dignity and worth of every human being and by securing the rights and the space of minorities that societies could coexist peacefully.1 4. It is against this background that the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR) is committed to pursuing its work to protect the rights of persons belonging to minorities as a matter of priority, in partnership with other United Nations entities, regional organizations, Member States, national human rights institutions, minority representatives, nongovernmental institutions and other partners. II. Work of the Office of the High Commissioner at headquarters and in the field 5. Throughout the year, in public statements, the High Commissioner stressed the importance of advancing non-discrimination and the protection of minorities. In pursuing its work on minority rights, OHCHR also engaged in a number of activities aiming at 1 2 Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “High Commissioner statement to Security Council on minorities in the Middle East”, 27 March 2015.