E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.5/2001/2 page 12 can exercise their rights in community with other members of the group applies not only to the rights contained in the Declaration, but any human right. They shall not be subject to any discrimination as a consequence of exercising their rights. This principle is important, because Governments or persons belonging to majorities are often tolerant of persons of other national or ethnic origins until such time as the latter assert their own identity, language and traditions. It is often only when they assert their rights as persons belonging to a group that discrimination or persecution starts. Article 3.1 makes it clear that they shall not be subjected to discrimination for manifesting their group identity. 3.2 No disadvantage shall result for any person belonging to a minority as a consequence of the exercise or non-exercise of the rights set forth in the present Declaration 54. While article 3.1 provides that persons belonging to minorities shall not be subjected to discrimination for exercising, individually or collectively, their minority rights, article 3.2 makes it clear that they shall also not be disadvantaged in any way for choosing not to belong to the minority concerned. This provision is directed both towards the State and the agencies of the minority group. The State cannot impose a particular ethnic identity on a given person (which is what the apartheid regime in South Africa sought to do) by the use of negative sanctions against those who do not want to be part of that group; nor can persons belonging to minorities subject to any disadvantage persons who on objective criteria may be held to form part of their group but who subjectively do not want to belong to it. While, under conventional law, responsibility for human rights compliance normally rests with the State, the Declaration in this respect implies duties - at least morally - for persons representing minorities. Furthermore, States would be under a duty to prohibit the taking of measures by minorities to impose their particular rules on any person who did not want to be part of the minority concerned and therefore did not want to exercise her or his rights. Article 4 4.1 States shall take measures where required to ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully and effectively their human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law 55. Article 4 sets out the State measures that should be taken in order to achieve the purpose of the Declaration and is its most important part, together with article 2, which sets out the rights. While States are generally obliged under international law to ensure that all members of society may exercise their human rights, States must give particular attention to the human rights situation of persons belonging to minorities because of the special problems they confront. They are often in a vulnerable position and have, in the past, often been subjected to discrimination. In order to ensure equality in fact, it may under some circumstances be necessary for the State to take transitional affirmative action, as provided for in article 2.2 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which is applicable to ethnic as well as racial minorities, provided these measures do not disproportionately affect the rights of others.