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

A/RES/66/166View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 69b Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2011.

What other versions does this mandate have?

17 versions · 1995–2025

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

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/199	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities	3,833	66%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/211	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities	3,518	69%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/168	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities	2,899	72%Compare
2020	A/RES/74/165	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities	2,539	71%Compare
2018	A/RES/72/184	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities	2,532	48%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

10 reports · 2003–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2026	A/81/281	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/80/199
2025	A/80/288	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/211
2023	A/78/306	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/76/168
2021	A/76/255	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/74/165
2019	A/74/215	Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/184

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 subjects

Declarations Dispute Settlement Human Rights Human Rights Advancement Inter-Agency Cooperation Minorities

What’s in this document?

23 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,⁶ and draws attention to the relevant provisions of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action,⁷ including the provisions on forms of multiple discrimination;

⁶Resolution 47/135, annex.

⁷See A/CONF.189/12 and Corr.1, chap. I.

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

Urges States to take all appropriate measures, inter alia, constitutional, legislative, administrative and other measures, for the promotion and implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, 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;

Calls upon States to give special attention to the situation and specific needs of women and children belonging to minorities while promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities;

Encourages States, in their follow-up to the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, to include aspects relating to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in their national plans of action and, in this context, to take forms of multiple discrimination fully into account;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Independent Expert on minority issues and its special focus on the role of the protection of minority rights in conflict prevention;⁸

⁸See A/HRC/16/45.

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;

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, to assist in resolving existing or potential situations involving minorities;

Commends the Independent Expert on minority issues 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 and for the ongoing efforts to promote and protect their rights in order to ensure equitable development and peaceful and stable societies, including through close cooperation with Governments, the relevant United Nations bodies and mechanisms and non-governmental organizations;

Calls upon all States to cooperate with and assist the Independent Expert on minority issues in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated to her, to provide her with all the necessary information requested and to seriously consider responding promptly and favourably to the requests of the Independent Expert to visit their countries in order to enable her to fulfil her 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;

Expresses its appreciation for the successful completion of the first three sessions of the Forum on Minority Issues, addressing the right to education, the right to effective political participation and the right to participation in economic life and which, through the widespread participation of stakeholders, provided an important platform for promoting dialogue on these topics, and encourages States to take into consideration, as appropriate, relevant recommendations of the Forum;

Invites States, United Nations mechanisms, bodies, specialized agencies, funds and programmes, regional, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions as well as academics and experts on minority issues to continue to participate actively in the sessions of the Forum on Minority Issues;

Welcomes the decision of the Human Rights Council to convene at its nineteenth session a panel discussion to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, with a particular focus on its implementation as well as on achievements, best practices and challenges in this regard;4

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 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 on Minority Issues;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue her efforts to improve coordination and cooperation among United Nations agencies, funds and programmes on activities related to the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and to take the work of relevant regional organizations active in the field of human rights into account in her endeavours;

Calls upon the High Commissioner to continue to promote, within her mandate, the implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and to engage in a dialogue with Governments for that purpose and regularly update and disseminate widely the United Nations Guide for Minorities;

Invites the High Commissioner to continue to seek voluntary contributions to facilitate the effective participation of representatives of non-governmental organizations and persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, in particular those from developing countries, in minority-related activities organized by the United Nations, in particular the activities of its human rights bodies, and in doing so to give particular attention to ensuring the participation of young people and women;

Invites the human rights treaty bodies, when considering reports submitted by States parties 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;

Reaffirms that the universal periodic review, as well as the United Nations human rights treaty bodies, constitute important mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in that regard calls upon States to effectively follow up on accepted universal periodic review recommendations related to the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and further encourages States parties to give serious consideration to the follow-up to treaty body recommendations on the matter;

Invites the Independent Expert on minority issues to report annually to the General Assembly;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, including information on activities undertaken by the Office of the High Commissioner, the Independent Expert on minority issues and relevant United Nations entities, within existing resources, as well as by Member States, to mark the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities;

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

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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