160 PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS ARTICLE 2 2.1  Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (hereinafter referred to as persons belonging to minorities) have the right to enjoy  their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their  own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination. 33. Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has almost the same language, but the Declaration is more explicit in requiring positive action. Article 27 of the Covenant requires that persons belonging to minorities “shall not be denied the right to  …”, whereas article 2 of the Declaration uses the positive expression “have the right to …”. Article 27 has been interpreted by the Human Rights Committee as requiring more than mere passive non-interference.8 The Declaration on Minorities makes it clear that these rights often require action, including protective measures and encouragement of conditions for the promotion of their identity (art. 1) and specified, active measures by the State (art. 4). 34. The words “freely and without interference or any form of discrimination” at the end of article 2.1 show that it is not enough for the State to abstain from interference or discrimination. It must also ensure that individuals and organizations of the larger society do not interfere or discriminate. 2.2 Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life. 35. The right to participate in all aspects of the life of the larger national society is essential, both in order for persons belonging to minorities to promote their interests and values and to create an integrated but pluralist society based on tolerance and dialogue. By their participation in all forms of public life in their country, they are able both to shape their own destinies and to contribute to political change in the larger society. 36. The words “public life” must be understood in the same broad sense as in article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, though much is covered already by the preceding words “cultural, religious, social and economic”. Included in “public life” are, among other rights, rights relating to election and to being elected, the holding of public office, and other political and administrative domains. 37. Participation can be ensured in many ways, including the use of minority associations (see also article 2.4), membership in other associations, and through their free contacts both inside the State and across borders (see article 2.5). 2.3 Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national, and where appropriate, regional level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live, in a manner not incompatible with national legislation. 38. While article 2.2 deals generally with the right to participation in all aspects of the public life of a society, article 2.3 deals specifically with the right of persons belonging to minorities to effective participation “in decisions … concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live”. As such decisions have a particular impact on persons belonging to minorities, the emphasis on effective participation is here of particular importance. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 23, adopted at the fiftieth session, 1994, paragraphs 6.1 and 6.2. 8