persons belonging to national minorities in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs, in particular those affecting them ». • Articles 4 and 6 guarantee the principle of non-discrimination and that of equality in the exercise of all the rights guaranteed by the Convention. In particular, these provisions require State parties to adopt, where necessary, adequate, positive measures in all areas of economic life in order to promote full and effective equality between persons belonging to national minorities and those belonging to the majority population. • In addition, a thematic commentary on the « Effective Participation of Persons Belonging to National Minorities in Cultural, Social and Economic Life and in Public Affairs » was adopted by the Advisory Committee on 27 February 2008. As with the General Comments adopted by UN treaty bodies, this thematic commentary of the Advisory Committee is not legally binding as such. However, it offers important guidelines to State parties to the Convention, based on the interpretation of articles 4, 6 and 15 of the Framework Convention by the Committee during its analysis of State reports within the monitoring process. An essential part of this monitoring process involves visits of working groups, composed of three committee members, to State parties. III. Discrimination in access to the labour market of persons belonging to national minorities. 1. Facts During its visits to State parties to the Framework Convention, the Advisory Committee has frequently observed that some national minorities have proportionally higher unemployment rates, lower employment rates and generally lower participation in the labour market than the majority population. This is because these groups are often faced with direct and indirect discrimination and inequalities in career opportunites, as well as de jure and de facto discrimination, based on their ethnicity, religion or language.