A/HRC/4/109 page 3 and of the mechanisms of the Council in this regard are essential contributions to the integration of minority concerns into the work of the Organization to reduce poverty, establish stable and socially inclusive societies and address systematic and long-standing discrimination against specific minority communities. 6. The present report outlines some of the principal interventions undertaken under the aegis of OHCHR aimed at strengthening the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. These include efforts to promote dialogue and mutual understanding on thematic issues and to support through capacity-building States that request such assistance. II. INTERNATIONAL FRAMEWORK OF STANDARDS AND MECHANISMS A. The international framework of standards 7. Although the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (the Minorities Declaration) is the only United Nations instrument addressing exclusively the rights of persons belonging to minorities, minority rights are recognized in several core international human rights instruments. Particular reference can be made to the provisions of articles 21 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, relating to, inter alia, participation in public and political life and participation in cultural life, respectively, which are not the subject of separate mandates under the Human Rights Council. Provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights also provide protection for persons belonging to minorities. 8. The Minorities Declaration lays down a number of purposes and principles as well as the rights of claim holders and the responsibilities of duty bearers. The purposes of the Declaration are to recognize plural identities and promote inclusive and stable societies. It reaffirms the rights of persons belonging to minorities to enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the principles of non-discrimination and equality before the law. Three additional pillars or principles contained in the Declaration relate to protection of existence, promotion and protection of identity, and the right to effective participation. Several of the Declaration’s provisions reaffirm and emphasize the right to effective participation of persons belonging to minorities and the duty of States to ensure the effective participation of minorities in decisions affecting them. 9. The United Nations has met the challenge of setting out the rights of persons belonging to minorities. States Members of the United Nations have enshrined special protections and rights for persons belonging to minorities in international and domestic law. Thus, the Commission, whose mandates are now under the purview of the Council, focused attention on efforts to raise further awareness and promote implementation of those rights and on the establishment of mechanisms for promoting and protecting those rights, including through the work of the Working Group on Minorities and the independent expert on minority issues.