Many countries of the world are home to groups of people characterized by ethnic, linguistic or religious characteristics that distinguish them from the majority of the population. Preserving the identity of each group and maintaining harmonious relations between the minorities themselves and between the minorities and the majority of the population is of paramount importance for the development of ethnic and cultural diversity, so most States strive to combine the highest values of equality, non-discrimination and political independence with respect for and protection of the rights of various groups of their citizens.

The process of recognizing and protecting the rights of minorities in international law was launched, according to experts, by the League of Nations, which adopted several «treatises on the rights of minorities». Then, when the League of Nations was replaced in 1945 by the United Nations (UN), it also gradually developed a number of norms, procedures and mechanisms related to national minorities.

Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Minorities, adopted in 1992, refers to minorities as distinct national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic groups. This document also provides for the obligation of States to protect their existence.

But in general, it should be noted that there is no internationally agreed definition of which groups are minorities. It is often emphasized that the existence of a minority is a matter of fact and that any definition must include both objective factors (for example, the existence of an ethnic, linguistic or religious community) and subjective factors (including individuals ' identification as members of a minority).

In 1977, the Special Rapporteur of the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Francesco Capotorti, formulated the following definition of minorities: «A group of smaller numbers than the rest of the population of a State, occupying a non-dominant position, whose members, being citizens of the State, have ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics different from those of the rest of the population, and they show, even if only implicitly, a sense of solidarity aimed at preserving their culture, traditions, religion or language^[165]».

Currently, varieties of methods are used to ensure and protect the rights of national minorities, which can be divided into the following groups:

- International legal regulation of national minorities, which is either global or regional in nature;

- State-wide regulation;

- Regulation within a part of the state, or local regulation^[166].

Each of these methods has its own supporters and opponents, so in the expert community and in scientific publications there are both proposals to establish international standards and require each state to comply with them, and claims that the regulation of the rights of national minorities is a matter only for the country in which they live, and should be carried out exclusively on the basis of state rights.

Both points of view have a right to exist, since, on the one hand, the peculiarity of the political life of each State does not allow for the development of a universal system of rules for all, and on the other hand, the rights of minorities are undoubtedly among the basic human rights and, therefore, should be protected at the international level.

To date, a number of international legal documents have been adopted that define the main parameters of the legal status of national minorities. All these materials should be used as a basis for the development of domestic legislation. Nevertheless, general approaches are fundamental, but they cannot lead to solving specific problems in a particular country, so until now, the legislation of individual countries, or more precisely, the practice of law enforcement, is the determining factor. This is due to the fact that even the best legal remedies are not effective if their implementation is difficult.

The main legislative and regulatory acts that address the problems of national minorities in one way or another include the following:

- The Charter of the United Nations (the rights of national minorities are not yet mentioned in it, but the rights and freedoms of man and citizen in general are regulated);

- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966;

- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966;

- Convention for the Suppression of Discrimination in Education, 1960;

- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965;

- Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice, 1978;

- The 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief;

- Declaration on the Right to Development of 1986;

- The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child;

- Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, 1992;

- Vienna Declaration and Program of Action of 1993;

- European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, 1950;

- Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, 1975;

- The Final Document of the Vienna 1986 Meeting of Representatives of the CSCE Member States in 1989;

- Document of the 1990 Copenhagen Meeting of the CSCE Conference on the Human Dimension;

- Charter of Paris for a New Europe, 1990;

- European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, 1992;

- Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of 1995;

- The American Convention on Human Rights of 1969;

- African Charter on Human and Peoples ' Rights, 1981;

- The 1995 Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms.

The whole diversity of human rights in relation to minorities can be divided into two groups:

- rights that can be protected under the general human rights protection regime;

- rights that can be realized only if there are special guarantees for their protection – rights that ensure the ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity of a minority, thereby preserving its identity.

Only within the framework of a harmonious combination of individual and collective approaches (protection of the rights of minorities as a special group) can the rights of both persons belonging to minorities and minorities in general, representing groups of the population with peculiar qualitative characteristics, be effectively implemented.

The principles of equality and non-discrimination, which are provided with additional legal guarantees, form the basis for an effective solution to the problem of protecting national minorities. The main goal of the national policy of any state is to achieve real equality of its citizens. Equality should not be confused with social equality and the prohibition of arbitrariness in relation to a particular ethnic group. In the case of national minorities, equality is the approximation of the living conditions of the minority to those of the general population and the equality of the rights, freedoms and obligations of these communities with the ethnic majority of the population – the use of their native language, traditions, religions, and the development of national schools. Thus, real equality is achieved only when the minority has special rights containing guarantees against assimilation^[167].

Non-discrimination is protection against any attempt to infringe on the rights of minorities in the political, social, economic and cultural spheres. The prohibition of discrimination covers, in particular, discrimination on the basis of race, language, religion, national or social origin, birth or other circumstances, and is based on the principle of formal equality: a person recognized as a subject of law becomes formally equal with other people, although in real life they are not actually equal.

The implementation of the above principles alone cannot ensure the protection of the interests of national minorities at the proper level: the process of acquiring the status of minorities, which is considered natural by the majority, can only begin when special guarantees are implemented, which consist in granting special rights that ensure the existence and development of their ethnic identity, bringing the living conditions of the national minority closer living conditions of the main national population group.

It should be noted that the concept of special rights, i.e. rights enjoyed by persons belonging to certain formal categories, as an integral element of human rights is quite common in modern legal literature. Special rights should not be seen as preferential rights that place these communities and individuals belonging to them in a privileged position relative to the rest of the population, but as requirements for providing minorities with the necessary means to preserve their characteristics and traditions, as protection of non-dominant groups that need a special status in order to preserve their distinctive characteristics, as a positive activities that include certain social programs, such as schools that teach in the native language of a non-dominant group^[168].

The right of persons belonging to national minorities to freely express, preserve and develop their ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity is of fundamental importance. It includes the following:

- the right to self-identification, i.e. identification or refusal to identify with the relevant ethnic minority without any negative consequences for the identifier;

- prohibition of forced assimilation (loss of one part of society of its distinctive features and their replacement by those borrowed from another part);

- the right to study one's mother tongue or to be taught in that language, to use one's surname and first name in the transcription of one's mother tongue, to freely use minority languages in private and public life and, as far as possible, in relations between persons belonging to them and administrative authorities;

- the right to establish their own private educational institutions for the purposes of education and professional training;

- the right to receive and exchange information in the minority language without State interference and regardless of borders;

- the right to establish and use their own mass media;

- the right to identity;

- political rights: the right of minorities to exist as a group and, as a consequence, the legal recognition of national minorities and the identification of their characteristics, the right to form their own associations and ensure their functioning, etc. The implementation of these rights is designed to ensure a significantly greater role for minorities in public affairs. In this case, the State is obliged to obtain consent or, at a minimum, consult with minorities on issues that affect their interests, guarantee representation of minorities in legislative and other bodies, and take all necessary measures to ensure the interests of national minorities;

- the right to free and peaceful cross-border contacts with citizens of other countries with whom they share a common ethnicity or cultural heritage;

- the right to participate in cultural, religious, social, economic and State life;

- the right to enjoy the cultural heritage of one's country, to profess one's religion and to practice religious rites;

- the right to recognition of legal personality, equality in the courts, equality before the law and equal protection of the law.

It is also worth highlighting a rather controversial issue regarding the rights of national minorities, namely the right to self-determination. Self-determination as a phenomenon of politics and law is a complex system of dialectically interrelated definitions by the people of their political, economic, social, cultural status, the status of the owner, the owner of natural resources and the wealth of the ancestral land^[169]. There are several views on this issue:

- unconditional recognition of the right of minorities to self-determination;

- recognition of the right of national minorities to self-determination and secession, which at the same time is controversial and unpredictable in its implementation;

- denial, according to international instruments, of the right of a minority to self-determination, including secession.

In the practice of the UN, it is customary to distinguish between a people, regardless of their size, and a minority living on the territory of a State, and in accordance with international documents, self-determination is recognized for a people, but not for a minority.

Thus, the State has a duty not to ensure self-determination for minorities, but to preserve their individuality, i.e., while respecting the equality of all nationalities in the State, international law does not encourage the desire for secession, which entails a violation of integrity. With regard to national minorities in international law, we can note the emergence of a new principle related to the right of minorities to internal self-determination and autonomy, which does not endanger the sovereignty of the State^[170].

In 1999, the OSCE developed the Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public and Political Life, with explanatory notes^[171]. This document takes into account the following areas.

Mechanisms for the participation of national minorities at the central government level.

Various institutional and political mechanisms are used at the central Government level to ensure the full and fair participation of national minorities in government. These include:

- special forms of political representation, such as reserving a certain number of seats for representatives of minorities in one or both houses of Parliament, in parliamentary committees, as well as granting the right to vote or an advisory voice in the legislative process. For example, in India, the Constitution reserves 24% of all parliamentary seats for disadvantaged groups of society, known as registered castes (84 reserved seats) and registered tribes (47 reserved seats)^[172].

- Formal and informal arrangements for the inclusion of minority representatives in the highest authorities, including the Cabinet of Ministers, the highest judicial authorities (for example, the Supreme or Constitutional Court), as well as various advisory and supervisory bodies. For example, multi-faith Lebanon has a system of denominational representation. The «National Pact» is based on this principle, where the Maronite’s were assigned the presidency, and the Sunnis – the posts of Prime Minister and Finance minister in one person. Representatives of other communities (Druze, Shia, Alawite, Greek) received ministerial portfolios in accordance with their number in the country^[173];

- specialized units in the executive branch, such as departments or commissions for minority affairs in ministries, the appointment of commissioners for minority rights, the development and implementation of permanent instructions aimed at taking their interests into account when developing State policies. For example, in Finland, there is an Office for Sami Affairs, which is responsible for protecting the rights of the indigenous Sami people. In addition, the post of Ombudsman for Minorities was established in Finland in 2001. It is responsible for promoting good inter-ethnic relations in Finland and supervises the situation and implementation of the rights of ethnic minorities^[174].

- a policy of positive discrimination and personnel inclusion aimed at attracting members of minorities to work in State bodies, including measures on quotas, incentive programs and training. The possibility of receiving public services in the minority's native language is also important. For example, in Canada, federal agencies are required to provide services in English and French, and initiatives in indigenous languages are supported.

Elections and the electoral system.

Electoral mechanisms play a key role in ensuring the representation of national minorities. These mechanisms include:

- creation of single-member constituencies in areas where minorities live compactly, which allows them to guarantee the possibility of electing their own representative. Example: In Romania, single-member districts with simplified conditions of participation are provided for ethnic minorities.

- proportional electoral systems that promote fair representation of the interests of minorities by allocating mandates according to the percentage of votes received by the parties. This opens up access to Parliament for parties representing minorities. For example, in the Netherlands, a low electoral threshold and proportional representation system allow small parties, including ethnic parties, to win seats in Parliament.

- preferential voting, which allows voters to rank candidates according to the degree of preference. This mechanism not only encourages intercommunal cooperation, but can also provide support for minority candidates. For example, Australia uses a ranked voting system that takes into account the preferences of voters in several rounds of counting.

- lowering the electoral threshold for parties representing the interests of minorities contributes to their passage to Parliament and participation in the formation of state policy. For example, in Germany, a party representing the Danish minority does not have the general 5% barrier required for other parties to enter Parliament.

- fair definition of electoral district boundaries, aimed at preventing the «blurring» of minority votes (gerrymandering), allows for a more representative composition of legislative bodies. For example, Canada and New Zealand have independent redistricting commissions that take into account the interests of indigenous peoples.

Thus, in the conditions of multiethnic modern society, the issues of the status and legal protection of the rights of national minorities have become particularly relevant, since they are directly related to solving important political and legal tasks to ensure the constitutional rights and freedoms of individuals, create a civil society and rule of law, strengthen security and protect geopolitical interests.

---

^[165] E/CN.4/Sub.2/384/Rev.1, point 568

^[166] State, Law, and Interethnic Relations in Western Democratic Countries / International Association for Relations with Compatriots Abroad (Association «Rodina»). – Moscow, 1993. – P. 84.

^[167] Modeen T. The International Protection of National Minorities in Europe. Abo: Abo Akademi. – 1969. – P. 42.

^[168] Zakharkevich S. A. National Minorities and International Law / S. A. Zakharkevich, V. I. Medyanik // Humanitarian-Economic Bulletin. – 1996. – No. 3. – P. 98. 

^[169] Evmenova T. L. On the Content of the Concept of People’s Self-Determination as a Phenomenon of Politics and Law // Legal, Economic Education and Science at the Threshold of the New Millennium: Proceedings of the International Scientific-Practical Conference Dedicated to the 10th Anniversary of the Belarusian Institute of Law. November 30 – December 1, 2000 / Belarusian Institute of Law. – Minsk: BIP-S, 2001. – P. 181.

^[170] Modeen T. The International Protection of National Minorities in Europe. Åbo: Åbo Akademi. – 1969. – Pp. 473-474.

^[171] http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/russian/osce/basics/Rlundrecom.html. Date of access 16.04.2025

^[172] The World’s Largest Elections Have Started in India. April 19, 2024. https://russiancouncil.ru/analytics-and-comments/analytics/v-indii-startovali-krupneyshie-v-mire-vybory/?sphrase_id=142022554. Date of access 16.04.2025

^[173] Religious Communities of Lebanon and Their Influence on the Political Life of the Country https://islam-today.ru/politika/religioznye_obshhiny_livana_i_ix_vliyanie_na_politicheskuyu_zhizn_strany/. Date of access 16.04.2025

^[174] Eurasian legal portal https://www.eurasialegal.info/index.php/legal-articles/141-2012-07-02-12-20-07/4603-2015-06-24-08-22-38.html. Date of access 16.04.2025