ACFC/56DOC(2016)001 Part VI Minority rights with a broad scope of application 64. The Framework Convention’s Explanatory Report refers to minority rights being exercised “in community with others”, pointing to the fact that communities are formed around a variety of shared practices and the common exercise of rights. The practices by which persons seek to identify themselves are dynamic and evolving, built on what people have in common rather than on differences. They include transmitted knowledge or shared memories that may not always be actively demonstrated. As such, they may vary in intensity and scope, depending on the circumstances. They may evolve over time and they may also be performed from a distance. Given its task to monitor the effective implementation of rights contained in the Framework Convention, the Advisory Committee has primarily been concerned with access to rights and only secondarily with questions surrounding status. Indeed, it considers formal recognition of national minorities an act of a declaratory rather than a constitutive nature (see paragraph 28). In order to ensure that minority rights are not arbitrarily withheld from persons belonging to national minorities who should be protected under the Framework Convention, the Advisory Committee has consistently employed a broad scope of application with respect to the rights contained in the Framework Convention and has commended states parties which do the same. In particular it considers that the following articles of the Framework Convention, given their nature, have a broad scope of application, also including under their protection therefore persons belonging to national minorities who are not recognised as such by the respective state party. 1. Equality – Article 4 65. All persons belonging to national minorities, irrespective of their status or recognition, must be guaranteed the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law. This general principle of human rights contained in Article 4(1) has not been contested by states parties. The Advisory Committee has repeatedly emphasised the gender dimension in this context, drawing the attention of states parties to the phenomenon of multiple discrimination, as frequently experienced by women belonging to national minorities.89 Article 4(2) further calls for special measures to overcome structural disadvantages between the minority and the majority in all spheres. These must be developed and implemented in close consultation with those affected and due account must be taken of the specific conditions of the persons concerned in their design. 66. The Advisory Committee has consistently encouraged states parties to base their equality promotion policy instruments or special measures on comprehensive data related to the situation and access to rights of persons belonging to national minorities, also taking into account the various manifestations of multiple discrimination that may be experienced, including those arising from factors that are unrelated to the national minority background such as age, gender, sexual orientation and lifestyle markers. Moreover, particular attention must be paid to members of the most disadvantaged segments of society, that is those who have been disempowered economically, socially or geographically, due to their size or because of past experiences of conflict. In this context of special and targeted measures for the promotion of effective equality, the Advisory Committee has consistently emphasised the importance of regularly collecting reliable and disaggregated equality data related to the number and situation of persons belonging to national minorities. It has, however, cautioned states parties against the over-reliance on statistics and encouraged the authorities also to 89. See, inter alia, Third Opinions on Azerbaijan and Finland. 25