A UNITED NATIONS General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/RES/54/162 23 February 2000 Fifty-fourth session Agenda item 116 (b) RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY [on the report of the Third Committee (A/54/605/Add.2)] 54/162. Effective promotion of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities The General Assembly, Recalling its resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992, by which it adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and its subsequent resolutions thereon, Considering that the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities contribute to political and social stability and peace and enrich the cultural heritage of society as a whole in the States in which such persons live, Concerned by the frequency and severity of disputes and conflicts concerning minorities in many countries and their often tragic consequences, and concerned also that persons belonging to minorities are particularly vulnerable to displacement through, inter alia, population transfers, refugee flows and forced relocation, Acknowledging that the United Nations has an increasingly important role to play regarding the protection of minorities by, inter alia, taking due account of and giving effect to the Declaration, 00 26547 /...