UN treaties affecting minorities
The first of the treaties adopted in the framework of the UN is the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, adopted in 1948, which recognises the right of minorities to exist. Several multilateral treaties include the prohibition of discrimination against minorities. Most prominent among these is the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which also prohibits discrimination on grounds of national or ethnic origin. The 1960 UNESCO Convention against discrimination in education recognises the right to education in the mother tongue of minorities, while the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the right to minority identity. As per the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the rights set out in the document must be fulfilled regardless of “race, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion, national or social origin.” Article 27 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also states: “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language.” This is the most significant universal legally binding treaty provision explicitly recognising the protection of minorities. (See also: prohibition of discrimination.)