ACFC/56DOC(2016)001 Executive summary Diversity has been an integral part and a major asset of European societies for centuries. It remains an essential feature of contemporary societies. The purpose of the Commentary is to consolidate the manner in which the Advisory Committee has interpreted, over the years, the scope of application of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ETS No. 157), bearing in mind specific societal, economic and demographic developments. The Commentary shows that, since 1995, the Framework Convention has been and continues to be a key tool for states to accommodate increasing pluralism through minority protection in a way that carefully balances broader societal concerns with individual rights. It supports states parties in managing diversity by creating appropriate societal conditions that allow for the expression and acknowledgement of difference, for equal access to rights and resources despite difference and for social interaction and inclusion across difference. The Framework Convention is based on the principle that the protection of national minorities is essential to stability, democratic security and peace. Its main purpose is to prevent interethnic tensions and to promote dialogue in open and inclusive societies. Accordingly, the Commentary underlines that the Framework Convention addresses society as a whole and not just individuals or specific groups. Rather than asking “who” should be protected, it asks “what” is required to manage diversity most effectively through the protection of minority rights. It is for this reason that the Convention does not contain a definition of the term “person belonging to a national minority”. The Framework Convention was deliberately conceived as a living instrument. Its interpretation must be adjusted regularly to ensure that minority rights can be enjoyed effectively in societies that are affected by constant transformation, including through mobility and migration. The right to free self-identification is central to minority protection, including multiple and situational affiliations. It must not be disregarded through imposed categorisation based on predetermined characteristics. Individuals self-identify and form communities through a variety of evolving shared practices and through the common exercise of rights. Societal changes also have an impact on identity perceptions of individuals and of communities and thereby on the applicability of minority rights. Among the broad range of rights contained in the Framework Convention, some explicitly apply to all individuals in the territory of the state, while the application of others may be linked to specific conditions. When examining the implementation of the Framework Convention by states parties, the Advisory Committee has therefore consistently encouraged the authorities to be inclusive and context specific and to consider, on an article-by-article basis, which rights should be made available to whom in order to ensure the most effective implementation of the Framework Convention based on facts rather than status. The Commentary concludes that access to minority rights can only be ensured in a society where dialogue, understanding and cultural diversity are viewed as sources of enrichment rather than of division. 3