ACFC/56DOC(2016)001 regard to access to rights.37 In its work, it has thus assessed the various approaches and delimitations established by states parties in order for the Framework Convention to become applicable, which are often based on the elements below. 2. Criteria applied by states parties a) Formal recognition 27. The formal recognition of a national minority as such is required in a number of states parties in order for persons belonging to these groups to access minority rights. The Advisory Committee has consistently criticised such an approach as per se exclusionary and not in line with the principles contained in the Framework Convention. While some states parties have explicitly acknowledged the impracticality of relying on a formal recognition for the application of minority rights,38 a number of other states have, on a de facto basis, disregarded a requirement for formal recognition, thereby broadening the scope of application of the Framework Convention in practice.39 Such developments have always been welcomed by the Advisory Committee and understood as efforts to correct the shortcomings that arise from applying formal criteria that are either too rigid or no longer reflect the actual situation. This further reaffirms that the Framework Convention is not suited for static definitions or criteria. 28. The Advisory Committee has further observed that the de facto inclusion of beneficiaries under the protection of the Framework Convention or of certain of its articles often forms part of an evolutionary process that eventually may lead to formal recognition. Beginning with the free self-identification of individuals who are acknowledged by society as forming a distinct – albeit equally valued – minority, access to rights is then granted to promote and preserve the practices by which the group defines itself, leading in some cases to the inclusion of the minority in formal mechanisms of national minority protection.40 Thus, official recognition as a national minority or the granting of a specific status, do not constitute the beginning of the process of minority rights protection, nor are they essential for the application of the Framework Convention or of specific articles of it. Recognition as a national minority has a declaratory rather than a constitutive character. Access to minority rights should therefore not depend on formal recognition. b) Citizenship 29. A recurrent precondition used by states parties is the requirement that a person belonging to a national minority must be a citizen in order to benefit from the protection of the Framework Convention. The Advisory Committee has pointed out in this regard that the inclusion of the citizenship requirement may have a restrictive and discriminatory effect, given that it is often the members of particularly disadvantaged groups and minorities, including those who have suffered or been displaced as a result of conflict, who face difficulties in obtaining citizenship and are therefore affected by this restriction. 37. References to this duty can be found in all First Opinions of the Advisory Committee. 38. See First State Report submitted by Finland, stating that “the existence of minorities does not depend on a declaration by the Government but on the factual situation in the country”. 39. Roma have, for instance, been included under the protection offered by the Framework Convention in Cyprus, despite not officially being recognised as national minorities. See Second State Report submitted by Cyprus. Finland has applied guarantees provided to “Old Russians” as well as to newer Russian-speaking arrivals. See Third Opinion on Finland. 40. In the Czech Republic and Finland, for instance, immigrant groups such as Somalis and Vietnamese are also represented in cultural consultation mechanisms and receive state support for their activities. 12