A/75/211 from a historical and contextual analysis of the categories of national or ethn ic minorities in United Nations and other instruments: (a) The term “ethnic minority” is a broad category that includes individuals associated by ancestry, descent, origin or lineage, and can include persons who share personal characteristics with other members of a community, such as a common language or culture; (b) The term “national minority” would seem, despite some debate on the matter, to mean a narrower grouping, usually of an ethnic or linguistic minority with a more or less long-standing presence in a State in order to be considered “sufficiently” traditional or autochthonous. 69. A person can, as with other categories of minorities, freely belong to a national or ethnic minority without any requirement of citizenship, residence, official recognition or any other status. 70. While not being exhaustive, the contextualization of the provisions of United Nations instruments dealing with the rights of national or ethnic minorities and their interpretation in the past few decades, as well as a significant number of regional instruments, suggest the following results for the present report ’s conclusions as to the intent and wording of those provisions, as well as the significance and scope of the category of national or ethnic minorities: (a) The category of “ethnic minority” is a broad, inclusive category. It brings together individuals linked by colour, ancestry, descent, origin or lineage, as well as individuals joined together by distinct cultural features (mainly language), but which can include a particular way of life, 26 and (arguably in some cases) religion. National minorities appear to be a narrower category, where an ethnic minority must have a historical association on the territory of a State. Roma, for example, are not recognized as a national minority in some countries, such as Italy, but are usually acknowledged as an ethnic minority; (b) An individual may no longer be fluent in the language usually associated with a national or ethnic minority, such as the Cajuns in the United States or the Acadians in Canada, but could still self-identify because of heritage, lineage and identity, and be objectively deemed to have such a connection, even if no longer fluent in the language of the group; (c) None of these categories are exclusive. A minority may be presented or perceived as “mainly” ethnic, but many or some of its members may not have all the same heritage or religion or culture. Papuans in Indonesia can be broadly put together as an ethnic minority with shared origins or descent, but that group is also made up of individuals from a large number of distinct Papuan languages and cultures (some 200) with most sharing Christian religions or animist beliefs. Individuals can therefore also belong to different linguistic or religious or belief minorities at the same time as to the Papuan ethnic minority; (d) Ethnic minorities, through ancestry, descent, origin or lineage, can include individuals recognized because of shared physical characteristics, such as Afrodescendants, as well as social castes and similar groups, including Dalits in In dia (and elsewhere) and the Burakumin of Japan. Some castes and so-called “social groups” sometimes also have their own distinct cultures and traditions; (e) Seafaring and nomadic groups, such as the Dao of Taiwan and the Moken of Myanmar and Thailand, as well as Tuaregs and Bedouins, are ethnic minorities, as are Travellers in Ireland and the United Kingdom and Roma and Sinti in Europe and __________________ 26 18/20 See E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.5/2001/2, para. 6. 20-09835