ACFC/56DOC(2016)001 30. In a number of regions in Europe, persons belonging to national minorities have lost their citizenship or even become stateless due to the creation of new states, despite having long-lasting ties to their places of residence. The Advisory Committee has consistently underlined the specific challenges faced by persons belonging to national minorities who are de jure or de facto stateless and has drawn attention in this context to the right of each person to a nationality in line with the European Convention on Nationality (ETS No. 166).41 Indeed, it should be considered for each right separately whether there are legitimate grounds to differentiate its application based on citizenship.42 The Advisory Committee has always welcomed instances in which states parties have extended minority rights to noncitizens, thereby in practice disregarding an officially still existing precondition of citizenship.43 In some instances, it has explicitly recommended the more consistent application of minority rights to “non-citizens”.44 c) Length of residency 31. In their definitions of national minorities, a number of states parties refer to the length of residency of a particular group in the territory of the state.45 Attempts at creating time limits in definitions such as “prior to the 20th century”,46 or “approximately 100 years”,47 have been used in this context. Less absolute concepts that are subject to interpretation have also been developed, including the notion of “traditional residence”, “traditional minorities” or the term “autochthonous national minorities”.48 In some cases the notion of “long-lasting ties to a particular region” is applied, including with regard to non-residents who express a willingness to return to this region and to benefit from the protection of the Framework Convention.49 The Advisory Committee considers that it follows by implication from the fact that only Articles 10(2), 11(3) and 14(2) of the Framework Convention establish specific guarantees in areas traditionally inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities, that the length of residency in the country is not to be considered a determining factor for the applicability of the Framework Convention as a whole (see also Part VII).50 It has further consistently held that any temporal restrictions 41. See in particular Article 4 of the European Convention on Nationality (ETS No. 166). 42. See also the Venice Commission Report on Non-citizens and Minority Rights (CDL-AD(2007)001) adopted at its 69th plenary session (Venice, 15-16 December 2006), comprehensively analysing international and European standards and practice as regards the relevance of citizenship and other criteria for defining beneficiaries of minority rights, and calling for a nuanced approach to the citizenship criterion for the applicability of minority rights, depending on the specific right in question. 43. See Third Opinion on the Czech Republic, for instance. 44. See Second Opinion on Latvia. 45. See, inter alia, Austria, Denmark, Germany and Hungary. The request for access to minority rights by the Polish minority in Austria, for instance, has been rejected based on the argument that there has not been uninterrupted and “traditional” residence. See Fourth State Report of Austria. 46. See, for instance, First State Report of Sweden. 47. See, for instance, First State Report of Austria. 48. At the time of depositing the instrument of ratification, Slovenia declared, for instance, that it would consider as national minorities “the autochthonous Italian and Hungarian National Minorities”, and that “the Framework Convention shall apply also to the members of the Roma community, who live in the Republic of Slovenia.” 49. See, for instance, Second Opinion on Georgia, welcoming the government’s open approach towards Meshketians and Ossetians who were deported or displaced by conflict. 50. The length of residency within the state is irrelevant in terms of the applicability of minority rights arising under Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). See General Comment of the UN Human Rights Committee No. 23(50), CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add5/26 April 1994. 13