II. SCOPE OF MINORITY RIGHTS PROTECTION Based on the experiences of minority communities worldwide, and on the contents of the United Nations Minorities Declaration and other international standards relating to minority rights, the following can be identified as major concerns: survival and existence, promotion and protection of the identity of minorities, equality and non-discrimination, and effective and meaningful participation. A. Survival and existence According to the above-mentioned Commentary of the Working Group on Minorities, any action for the protection of minorities should focus primarily on the protection of the physical existence of persons belonging to minorities, including protecting them from genocide and crimes against humanity. The 2001 Durban Declaration affirms that “the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of minorities, where they exist, must be protected and that persons belonging to such minorities should be treated equally and enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination of any kind” (para. 66). During conflicts, the physical integrity of persons belonging to minority groups is of course at greatest risk and attention should be paid to ensuring that minorities, including those displaced internally within their own country or externally as refugees, have access to humanitarian aid and relief such as food, shelter and health care. As former United Nations SecretaryGeneral Kofi Annan remarked at the Stockholm International Forum in January 2004: “We must protect especially the rights of minorities, since they are genocide’s most frequent targets.”3 Lack of respect for, lack of protection and lack of fulfilment of the rights of minorities may be at least a contributing factor if not the primary cause of displacement and may—in the worst cases—even lead to the extinction of such communities. The displacement of minorities can thus serve as an indicator of the degree to which their rights are respected, protected and fulfilled in the country from which they are displaced. Although it can be difficult to identify all minority groups as such in a situation of displacement, protection mechanisms, including humanitarian assistance programmes, need to be designed in a way which enables these groups to retain their identity to the greatest extent possible. It is important to note that the protection of the existence of minorities also requires respect for 3 United Nations press release SG/SM/9126/Rev.1, 11 February 2004. 7