Effective Promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities

A/RES/72/184No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 72bHuman rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

17 versions · 1995–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/199

2025A/RES/80/199Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic MinoritiesLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/211Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic MinoritiesCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/76/168Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic MinoritiesCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/74/165Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic MinoritiesCompare with previous version
2018A/RES/72/184Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic MinoritiesCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Human Rights Human Rights Advancement Minorities

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2019.

2019A/74/215Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

33 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the obligation of States to ensure that persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities may exercise fully and effectively all human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law, as proclaimed in the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and draws attention to the relevant provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, including the provisions on forms of multiple discrimination;

Urges States and the international community to promote and protect the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as set out in the Declaration, including through the encouragement of conditions for the promotion of their identity, the provision of adequate education and the facilitation of their participation in all aspects of the political, economic, social, religious and cultural life of society and in the economic progress and development of their country, without discrimination, and to apply a gender perspective while doing so;

Encourages States to take appropriate measures so that, wherever possible, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities may have adequate opportunities to learn their own language or to have instruction in their own language;

Urges States to take all appropriate measures, inter alia, constitutional, legislative, administrative and other measures, for the promotion and implementation of the Declaration, and appeals to States to cooperate bilaterally and multilaterally, in particular on the exchange of best practices and lessons learned, in accordance with the Declaration, in order to promote and protect the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Recommends that States use the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration as an opportunity to reflect on current and emerging challenges facing persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including the rise in persecution on religious and ethnic grounds and increasing levels of hate crimes and hate speech targeting, among others, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Also recommends that States ensure that all measures taken with a view to implementing the Declaration are, to the fullest extent possible, developed, designed, implemented and reviewed with the full, effective and equal participation of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Calls upon States to take all appropriate measures to ensure the protection of children belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities who are at risk of or have experienced violence, in accordance with the relevant obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and of women who can be exposed to both gender-based violence and violence on the grounds of their belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and to give special attention to the situation and specific needs of older persons and persons with disabilities belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Recommends that States and other relevant actors ensure to the fullest extent possible that the Declaration is translated into all minority languages and disseminated widely;

Expresses its appreciation for the successful completion, in November 2016, of the ninth session of the Forum on Minority Issues, on the theme “Minorities in situations of humanitarian crises”, which, through the widespread participation of stakeholders, provided an important platform for the promotion of dialogue on this topic and, as part of its outcome, produced recommendations to prevent crises and the disproportionate effect of crises on persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, promote respect for the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities during crises and ensure durable solutions for persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities after crises, and encourages States to take into consideration the relevant recommendations of the Forum;

Calls upon States, while bearing in mind the theme of the ninth session of the Forum and with a view to enhancing the implementation of the Declaration and ensuring the realization of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, to take appropriate measures by, inter alia:

Reviewing any legislation, policy or practice that has a discriminatory or disproportionately negative effect on persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and that may render them vulnerable, with a view to considering its amendment;

Enhancing efforts to prevent and combat acts of violence specifically targeting persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Strongly condemning any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and adopting and implementing measures to criminalize incitement to imminent violence based on nationality, race, religion or belief, while respecting all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Developing effective and adequate disaster risk reduction programmes that include measures to enhance the preparedness of potentially affected populations and, where necessary, address the specific needs of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Ensuring that protection responses are participatory, non-discriminatory and sensitive to the specific needs of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Ensuring the restoration or reissuance of identity documents to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities after a humanitarian emergency, including documents such as birth certificates or nationality documentation, so that the risk of statelessness is prevented;

Ensuring that persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities affected by displacement are adequately included, on an equal basis with other persons affected, in any durable solution, strategy or displacement-focused policy developed following the displacement of a population;

Also calls upon States to integrate the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as well as effective non-discrimination and equality for all, into strategies for the prevention and resolution of conflicts involving these minorities, while ensuring their full and effective participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of such strategies;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the effective promotion of the Declaration and the reports of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on minority issues, and their special focus on minorities in situations of humanitarian crises and on main concerns and recommendations from all thematic reports;

Commends the Special Rapporteur for the work that has been done and the important role played in raising the level of awareness of and in giving added visibility to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Calls upon all States to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated to him, to provide him with all the necessary information requested and to seriously consider responding promptly and favourably to the requests of the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries in order to enable him to fulfil his duties effectively;

Encourages the specialized agencies, regional organizations, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations to develop regular dialogue and cooperation with the mandate holder, as well as to continue to contribute to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to promote, within his mandate, the implementation of the Declaration, and to engage in a dialogue with Governments for that purpose and regularly update and disseminate widely the United Nations Guide for Minorities;

Welcomes the inter-agency cooperation among United Nations agencies, funds and programmes on minority issues, led by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urges them to further increase their coordination and cooperation by, inter alia, developing policies on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to minorities, drawing also on relevant outcomes of the Forum and taking into account the work of relevant regional organizations;

Calls upon the Secretary-General to make available, at the request of Governments concerned, qualified expertise on minority issues, including in the context of the prevention and resolution of disputes and conflicts, to assist in resolving existing or potential situations involving minorities;

Invites the human rights treaty bodies, as well as special procedures of the Human Rights Council, to continue to give attention, within their respective mandates, to situations and rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and in this regard to take into consideration relevant recommendations of the Forum;

Invites the United Nations mechanisms and bodies, the specialized agencies and regional organizations, within their respective mandates, to continue to contribute to the protection and the prevention of violations of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including by strengthening cooperation in respect of information-gathering and improving the information flow between themselves and with States;

Encourages regional intergovernmental bodies, within their respective regions, to promote greater attention to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities by, inter alia, actively raising awareness of and promoting the Declaration in their work, encouraging its implementation at the national level and considering the creation of thematic and/or special mechanisms on this issue;

Encourages national human rights institutions to pay due attention to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, including by monitoring situations of potential threats for persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and by investigating and reporting, in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles) and their respective mandates, episodes of targeted violence against persons belonging to minorities, including, when necessary, to regional and international bodies;

Encourages civil society, including non-governmental organizations, to promote awareness of the Declaration and to review the extent to which it integrates the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and the Declaration into its work, as well as to inform persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities about their rights;

Requests the Special Rapporteur to report annually to the General Assembly and include recommendations for effective strategies for the better implementation of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, including information on activities undertaken by Member States, the Office of the High Commissioner, the Special Rapporteur, relevant United Nations entities and other relevant stakeholders to enhance the implementation of the Declaration and to ensure the realization of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, with a focus on the international legal and institutional framework for the protection of the rights of all persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Decides to continue consideration of the question at its seventy-fourth session under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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