The General Assembly,
Reaffirming that one of the main purposes of the United Nations, as
proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, is to achieve international
cooperation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for
fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or
religion,
Noting the importance of the even more effective implementation of
international human rights instruments with regard to the rights of persons
belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
Welcoming the increased attention given by human rights treaty bodies to
the non-discrimination and protection of minorities,
Aware of the provisions of article 27 of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights concerning the rights of persons belonging to
ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities,
Considering that the United Nations has an increasingly important role
to play regarding the protection of minorities,
Bearing in mind the work done so far within the United Nations system,
in particular through the relevant mechanisms of the Commission on Human
Rights and the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities, in promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to
national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
Recognizing the important achievements in this regard in regional,
subregional and bilateral frameworks, which can provide a useful source of
inspiration for future United Nations activities,
Stressing the need to ensure for all, without discrimination of any
kind, full enjoyment and exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
and emphasizing the importance of the draft Declaration on the Rights of
Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
in that regard,
Recalling its resolution 46/115 of 17 December 1991 and taking note of
Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/16 of 21 February 1992, by which
the Commission approved the text of the draft declaration on the rights of
persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
and Economic and Social Council resolution 1992/4 of 20 July 1992, in which
the Council recommended it to the General Assembly for adoption and further
action,
Having considered the note by the Secretary-General,
1. Adopts the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the text of which is
annexed to the present resolution;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure the distribution of the
Declaration as widely as possible and to include the text of the Declaration
in the next edition of Human Rights: A Compilation of International
Instruments;
3. Invites United Nations agencies and organizations and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to intensify their
efforts with a view to disseminating information on the Declaration and to
promoting understanding thereof;
4. Invites the relevant organs and bodies of the United Nations,
including treaty bodies, as well as representatives of the Commission on Human
Rights and the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities, to give due regard to the Declaration within their mandates;
5. Requests the Secretary-General to consider appropriate ways for
the effective promotion of the Declaration and to make proposals thereon;
6. Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General
Assembly at its forty-eighth session on the implementation of the present
resolution under the item entitled “Human rights questions”.
ANNEX
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National
or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities
The General Assembly,
Reaffirming that one of the basic aims of the United Nations, as
proclaimed in the Charter, is to promote and encourage respect for human
rights and for fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race,
sex, language or religion,
Reaffirming faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth
of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large
and small,
Desiring to promote the realization of the principles contained in the
Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the International
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Declaration on the
Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on
Religion or Belief, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as
other relevant international instruments that have been adopted at the
universal or regional level and those concluded between individual States
Members of the United Nations,
Inspired by the provisions of article 27 of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights concerning the rights of persons belonging to
ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities,
Considering that the promotion and protection of the rights of persons
belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
contribute to the political and social stability of States in which they live,
Emphasizing that the constant promotion and realization of the rights of
persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
as an integral part of the development of society as a whole and within a
democratic framework based on the rule of law, would contribute to the
strengthening of friendship and cooperation among peoples and States,
Considering that the United Nations has an important role to play
regarding the protection of minorities,
Bearing in mind the work done so far within the United Nations system,
in particular by the Commission on Human Rights, the Subcommission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and the bodies
established pursuant to the International Covenants on Human Rights and other
relevant international human rights instruments in promoting and protecting
the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities,
Taking into account the important work which is done by
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in protecting minorities
and in promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to national or
ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
Recognizing the need to ensure even more effective implementation of
international human rights instruments with regard to the rights of persons
belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities,
Proclaims this Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to
National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities:
Article 1
1. States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural,
religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective
territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity.
2. States shall adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to achieve
those ends.
Article 2
1. Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic
minorities (hereinafter referred to as 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.
2. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate
effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life.
3. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate
effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate, regional
level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which
they live, in a manner not incompatible with national legislation.
4. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to establish and maintain
their own associations.
5. 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 persons belonging to other minorities, as well
as contacts across frontiers with citizens of other States to whom they are
related by national or ethnic, religious or linguistic ties.
Article 3
1. Persons belonging to minorities may exercise their rights, including
those set forth in the present Declaration, individually as well as in
community with other members of their group, without any discrimination.
2. No disadvantage shall result for any person belonging to a minority as
the consequence of the exercise or non-exercise of the rights set forth in the
present Declaration.
Article 4
1. States shall take measures where required to 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.
2. 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, except
where specific practices are in violation of national law and contrary to
international standards.
3. States should take appropriate measures so that, wherever possible,
persons belonging to minorities may have adequate opportunities to learn their
mother tongue or to have instruction in their mother tongue.
4. 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.
Persons belonging to minorities should have adequate opportunities to gain
knowledge of the society as a whole.
5. States should consider appropriate measures so that persons belonging to
minorities may participate fully in the economic progress and development in
their country.
Article 5
1. National policies and programmes shall be planned and implemented with
due regard for the legitimate interests of persons belonging to minorities.
2. Programmes of cooperation and assistance among States should be planned
and implemented with due regard for the legitimate interests of persons
belonging to minorities.
Article 6
States should cooperate on questions relating to persons belonging to
minorities, inter alia, exchanging information and experiences, in order to
promote mutual understanding and confidence.
Article 7
States should cooperate in order to promote respect for the rights set
forth in the present Declaration.
Article 8
1. Nothing in the present Declaration shall prevent the fulfilm ent of
international obligations of States in relation to persons belonging to
minorities. In particular, States shall fulfil in good faith the obligations
and commitments they have assumed under international treaties and agreements
to which they are parties.
2. The exercise of the rights set forth in the present Declarat ion
shall not prejudice the enjoyment by all persons of universally recognized
human rights and fundamental freedoms.
3. Measures taken by States to ensure the effective enjoyment o f the
rights set forth in the present Declaration shall not prima facie be
considered contrary to the principle of equality contained in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
4. Nothing in the present Declaration may be construed as permi tting
any activity contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations,
including sovereign equality, territorial integrity and political independence
of States.
Article 9
The specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations
system shall contribute to the full realization of the rights and principles
set forth in the present Declaration, within their respective fields of
competence.
