ACFC/31DOC(2008)001 14. Article 4 requires States to promote full and effective equality for persons belonging to national minorities in all areas of life. This implies the right of equal protection of the law and before the law and the right to be protected against all forms of discrimination based on ethnic origin and other grounds. Furthermore, full and effective equality also implies the need for the authorities to take specific measures in order to overcome past or structural inequalities and to ensure that persons belonging both to national minorities and to the majority have equal opportunities in various fields. Article 5 implies for State Parties an obligation “to promote the conditions necessary for persons belonging to national minorities to maintain and develop their culture and to preserve the essential elements of their identity, namely their religion, language, traditions and cultural heritage” in order to guarantee effectively their right to identity. 15. The right to effective participation, as enshrined in Article 15, makes it possible that the concerns of persons belonging to minorities regarding full and effective equality, and regarding their right to preservation and development of their specific identity, are heard and effectively taken into account. b) Effective participation on “issues affecting national minorities” 16. Article 15 requires States to create the conditions necessary for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities on various issues, in particular those affecting them. This part of Article 15 requires that State Parties pay specific attention to the involvement of persons belonging to national minorities in decisionmaking processes on issues of particular relevance to them. The Advisory Committee has made extensive comments on the various mechanisms which have been established by States to involve national minorities’ representatives in consultative and decision-making processes on issues of relevance to them. These comments focus on mechanisms for involving national minorities in decision-making on specific cultural, social and economic policies as well as in public affairs. 17. At the same time, the Advisory Committee has often underlined that persons belonging to national minorities should also have a say on issues which are not of exclusive concern to them but affect them as members of the society as a whole. Participation in public affairs is indeed essential not only to ensure that the particular concerns of persons belonging to national minorities are taken into account, but also to make it possible for them to influence the general direction of development in society. c) “Effectiveness” of participation 18. Another central issue in relation to Article 15 is the meaning of “effectiveness” in the context of minority participation. “Effectiveness” of participation cannot be defined and measured in abstract terms. When considering whether participation of persons belonging to national minorities is effective, the Advisory Committee has not only examined the means which promote full and effective equality for persons belonging to national minorities: it has also taken into account their impact on the situation of the persons concerned and on the society as a whole. This impact has qualitative and 12