A/HRC/34/53/Add.2 measures to allow them to exercise all their rights, including minority rights, to the fullest. She acknowledges that the notions of “majority” and “minority” may be changeable and dependable on the particular context, as a group that may constitute a dominant majority nationally or regionally may be numerically inferior and non-dominant in another region. Therefore, minority rights standards must also be applied to those constituting de facto minorities in the localities where they live. III. Minority rights: legal and institutional framework 14. The Republic of Moldova is a State party to the core international human rights treaties that are most relevant to minority rights, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The Republic of Moldova is a member of the Council of Europe and has been a State party to Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities since 1996. It has signed but not yet ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Article 4.2 of the Moldovan Constitution requires that priority be given to international law in situations of conflict or in case of inconsistency between national and international provisions of human rights. 15. The Constitution establishes the principle of equality and non-discrimination, including on the grounds of race, nationality, ethnic origin, language, religion, sex, opinion, political affiliation, property or social origin (art. 16.2). It also contains provisions on the rights of all citizens to the preservation, development and expression of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity (art. 10.2). 16. Article 13.1 establishes that the State language is Moldovan, but the State shall acknowledge and protect the right to the preservation, development and use of the Russian language and other languages spoken within the territory of the State (art. 13.2). Law No. 3465 on the functioning of the languages spoken in the territory of the Republic of Moldova (1999) recognizes in its article 3 that the State language in Latin alphabet is the only official language and that Russian is the language of inter-ethnic communication. Article 4 of the Law guarantees the use of Ukrainian, Russian, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Yiddish, Romani languages and languages of other ethnic groups living on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, for satisfaction of national-cultural needs. 17. Law No. 382-XV on the rights of persons belonging to national minorities and the legal status of their organizations was adopted in 2001. It defines national minorities as persons who reside on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, have Moldovan citizenship, possess ethnical, cultural and linguistic features that differ from the majority of the population (Moldovans) and consider themselves to be of a different ethnical origin (art. 1). Law No. 382-XV contains relevant provisions with respect to minority rights, including the principle of equality and non-discrimination for persons belonging to national minorities (art. 4); the right to education in Moldovan and Russian and the creation of conditions for mother-tongue education for other groups, including Ukrainians, Gagauz, Bulgarians and Jews (art. 6); the obligation of local administrations with considerable minority groups to publish administrative acts in the language of minorities (art. 8); the right of persons belonging to national minorities to communicate with public institutions in Moldovan and Russian and to obtain a response in the same language of communication (art. 12); the right to freedom of religion of minorities (art. 14); the right to use their names, last names and patronymics in official documents (art. 16); and the appointment of the Department of Inter-Ethnic Relations as the agency responsible for the promotion of the State policy in the field of inter-ethnic relations and the Coordination Council as its advisory body (art. 25). 6