I. Structural principles Sovereignty entails responsibility 1. A sovereign and functioning State is a prerequisite for a stable society. Sovereignty implies that the State has rights and responsibilities, both towards its own population and as an actor in the international community. One of a State’s sovereign responsibilities should include developing and implementing integration policies based on a sound institutional and legislative framework. State sovereignty is a foundational principle of international law and is codified in or underpinned by a number of major international documents.1 A stable society in which the dynamic processes of change take place without violence can only be achieved, maintained and further developed when the conditions to effectively exercise sovereignty are in place. In addition, sovereignty should be exercised according to the following principles: good and democratic governance, non-discrimination, effective equality, and respect for and protection of human rights, including minority rights. In a modern democratic State, the State’s duty towards its population is based on the consent of the people. Sovereignty is therefore both of the people and for the people. Sovereignty entails not only rights but also duties and responsibilities. 1 These include, inter alia, articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations (hereinafter: “UN Charter”); the 1975 CSCE Helsinki Final Act, Principles I–X; the 1990 Charter of Paris for a New Europe; the 1990 CSCE Document of the Copenhagen Meeting on the Human Dimension (hereinafter: “Copenhagen Document”), paragraph 37; the 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of the Council of Europe (hereinafter: “FCNM”), Preamble and article 21; the 1992 UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (hereinafter: “UN Declaration on Minorities”), article 8 (4); and the 1994 EU Concluding Document of the Inaugural Conference for a Pact on Stability in Europe (hereinafter: “Stability Pact”), paragraph 1.6. Guidelines on Integration of Diverse Societies 7