A/49/415/Add.1 English Page 18 83. The Government of Yugoslavia stated that the declining economic power in the country, to which the United Nations Security Council sanctions have contributed, has detracted from the basic conditions for the exercise of human rights, as well as from the State’s capacity to assist minority institutions and organizations. The Democratic Association of Bulgarians is a registered political organization, but one with a small number of members and little political influence. In the view of the Government, it takes advantage of this situation seeking to have it seen as a deliberate neglect of minority rights on the part of the State (for example, the situation regarding the financing of minority papers, which are confronted with a crisis, as are all other papers, and, in fact, the State is making efforts and managing to maintain them under these conditions). H. The right to establish and maintain free and peaceful contacts with other members of their group, as well as contacts across frontiers 84. It was pointed out that, in accordance with the Bonn/Copenhagen Declarations of 1955, the special interest of the Danish and German minorities in cultivating their religious, cultural and technical ties with Denmark and Germany, respectively, was recognized. There was relevant activity in this field. For example, an association called the Sydslesvigsk Forening devotes itself to promoting Danish work in South Schleswig, the Danish language, as well as Danish traditions and customs. It also maintained active contact with Denmark and the other Nordic countries. I. Equality before the law 85. In addition to the joint Danish-German report, the Government of Denmark sent a list of measures concerning the integration of ethnic minorities and the prevention of racism and intolerance in Denmark, prepared by the Danish Ministry of the Interior. Stating that the total number of foreign citizens was about 189,000 or 3.6 per cent as of January 1994, the Ministry pointed to legal measures aimed at ensuring the nationality groups (mainly Turks, Iranians and Sri Lankans) the status of non-discrimination and equality before the law. 86. Paragraph 266 (b) of the Danish Penal Code states that: "Any person who, publicly or with the intention of wider dissemination, makes a statement or other communication by which a group of people are threatened, insulted or degraded on account of their race, colour, national or ethnic origin, religion or sexual orientation, shall be liable to a fine, simple detention or imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years." 87. Promulgation Order No. 626 of 29 September 1987 makes discrimination in establishments and at arrangements open to the public a punishable offence. Act No. 466 of 30 June 1993 on the Racial Equality Board established a mechanism to combat unequal treatment in all its aspects and to support the view that all ethnic groups in society are given equal opportunities. The Board may not deal /...