Governments' Commitments to Ensuring the Human Rights of Minorities
What commitments have governments made to ensuring the realization of the Human Rights of Minorities?
Includes excerpts from:
the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, and commitments made at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, the World Conference on Women in Beijing, and the Habitat II conference in Istanbul.
"States shall protect the existence and the ... ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity.... Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities ... have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.... Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in decisions ... concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live.... Persons belonging to minorities have the right to establish and maintain, without any discrimination, free and peaceful contacts with other members of their group and with ... citizens of other States to whom they are related by ... ethnic, religious or linguistic ties.... Persons belonging to minorities may exercise their rights ... individually as well as in community with other members of their group, without any discrimination.... States shall ... ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully and effectively all their human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law. States shall take measures to create favourable conditions to enable persons belonging to minorities to express their characteristics and to develop their culture, language, religion, traditions and customs..... States should take appropriate measures so that ... persons belonging to minorities may have adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue or to have instruction in their mother tongue. States should, where appropriate, take measures in the field of education, in order to encourage knowledge of the history, traditions, language and culture of the minorities existing within their territory..... States should consider appropriate measures so that persons belonging to minorities may participate fully in the economic progress and development in their country." --Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious or Linguistic Minorities, Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4
"No one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on the grounds of religion or other belief.... All States shall take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights ... in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life...." --Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Articles 2 and 4
"Respect for human rights ... without distinction of any kind is a fundamental rule of international human rights law. The ... elimination of all forms of racism and racial discrimination ... and related intolerance is a priority task for the international community.... The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the obligation of States to ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully and effectively all human rights ... without any discrimination and in full equality before the law.... The persons belonging to minorities have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion and to use their own language in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.... The World Conference ... urges States and the international community to promote and protect the rights or persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.... Measures to be taken ... should include facilitation of their full participation in all aspects of the political, economic, social, religious and cultural life of society and in the economic progress and development in their country.... " --Vienna Declaration, Part I, paras. 15 and 19; Part II, paras. 26 and 27
"We commit ourselves to promoting social integration by fostering societies that are stable, safe and just and that are based on ... non-discrimination, tolerance, respect for diversity, equality of opportunity, ... and participation of all people.... To this end ... we will ... Formulate or strengthen policies and strategies geared to the elimination of discrimination in all its forms and the achievement of social integration based on equality and respect for human dignity.... Promote access for all to education, information, technology ... as essential means for enhancing ... participation in civil, political, economic, social and cultural life.... Recognize and respect cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, promote and protect the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, and take measures to facilitate their full participation in all aspects ... of their societies...." --Copenhagen Declaration, Commitment 4
"Eliminating discrimination and promoting tolerance and mutual respect for ... diversity ... requires ... Enacting and implementing ... laws ... to combat racism, racial discrimination, religious intolerance in all its various forms, xenophobia and all forms of discrimination in all walks of life in societies.... Taking specific measures ... to remove long-standing legal and social barriers to employment, education, productive resources and public services;... Governments should promote equality and social justice by: Ensuring that all people are equal before the law; Carrying out a regular review of public policy, including health and education policies, and public spending from a social ... equality and equity perspective...; Expanding and improving access to basic services with the aim of ensuring universal coverage...; Promoting full access to preventive and curative health care to improve the quality of life, especially by the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups...." --Copenhagen Programme of Action, paras. 73 and 74
"We are determined to ... ensure equal enjoyment of all human rights ... for all women and girls who face multiple barriers to their empowerment and advancement because of such factors as their race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, or disability, or because they are indigenous people...." --Beijing Declaration, para. 32
"Actions to be taken: ... Give priority to promoting and protecting the full and equal enjoyment by women and men of all human rights and fundamental freedoms without distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinions, national or social origins, property, birth or other status." --Beijing Platform for Action, para. 232
"As human beings are at the centre of our concern for sustainable development, they are the basis for our actions in implementing the Habitat Agenda.... We shall intensify our efforts to eradicate ... discrimination, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all...." --Istanbul Declaration, para. 7
"Equitable human settlements are those in which all people, without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, have equal access to housing, infrastructure, health services, adequate food and water, education.... We ... commit ourselves to ... Eradicating and ensuring legal protection from discrimination in access to shelter and basic services, without distinction of any kind...." --Habitat Agenda, paras. 27 and 40
For more information, please contact PDHRE
The People's Movement for Human Rights Education (PDHRE) / NY Office Shulamith Koenig / Executive Director 526 West 111th Street, New York, NY 10025 tel: 212.749-3156; fax: 212.666-6325; e-mail:
Thanks to Derrick Bell and his pioneer work: Race, Racism and American Law (1993).
