A/HRC/55/51 not challenged by the diversity resulting from the exercise of the right to self-determination. Human rights remain universal in their formulation, notwithstanding their implementation being a function of the diversity of peoples’ choices. As the Human Rights Committee pointed out in its general comment No. 12 (1984), the right to self-determination was of particular importance because its realization was an essential condition for the effective guarantee and observance of individual human rights and for the promotion and strengthening of those rights (para. 1). It is for that reason that States set forth the right to self-determination in a provision of positive law in both Covenants and placed that provision as article 1 apart from and before all of the other rights in the two Covenants. 27. The second level at which diverse or differential implementation of human rights is required to uphold the universal character of the protection of human rights is precisely as regards the fate and rights of minorities within existing States. 8 That is a consequence of the combined requirements of equal treatment of all individuals stemming from the universal character of human rights, as stated in article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and of the prohibition of discrimination in the universal implementation of human rights, as stated in article 2 thereof. It is not just by chance that the statement of grounds on which discrimination in the enjoyment of human rights shall be prohibited, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, 9 largely intersects with the categories of minorities referred to by the General Assembly in its resolution 47/135. In the wording of the prohibition of discrimination are to be found grounds such as race and colour (which would, according to current minority rights language, refer to ethnicity) and national origin (which refers to national minorities, as well as language and religion). The intersection between prohibited grounds for discrimination and qualification of minority groups is strong and central as regards the justification of specific and additional rights for persons belonging to minority groups. As can be seen above, such prohibition of discrimination in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not considered by the General Assembly as covering the fate of minorities, as shown by the existence of resolution 217 C (III).10 If not all the prohibited grounds for discrimination are considered as specific characteristics justifying specific minority rights by the Declaration of the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, practice amply shows that minority issues also exist with respect to sexual orientation, social origin or other status. 28. Therefore, the link between non-discrimination and the rights of persons belonging to a minority is central to the protection of minorities11 and the requirement of equal treatment that needs to be guaranteed in specific ways to persons belonging to a minority. The reasons stem from the fact that the principle of non-discrimination not only prohibits treating persons differently in the same situation, but also treating persons in different situations equally. As underlined in a recent OHCHR publication, States have recognized that the initial interpretation of the right – as a right to be treated in the same way – failed to effectively address all forms of discrimination. In particular, there was a recognition that treating people with different needs and characteristics equally could give rise to discrimination. Those and other developments reflect a progression from a narrow interpretation of the right to nondiscrimination, focused upon the prohibition of differences in treatment, to an inclusive 8 9 10 11 6 theory and practice”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, vol. 43, No. 2 (1994), pp. 241– 269. See the wording of article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that, in those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, or to use their own language. For the precise meaning of this formulation about the existence of minorities within a State, see Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 23 (1994), para. 5.2. Exact same wording in article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. See para. 22 above. This linkage was placed at the centre of the protection of minorities issue by the Government of Austria in its statement at the forty-third session of the Human Rights Council, as the sponsor of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on minority issues. Quoted in OHCHR and Equal Right Trust, Protecting Minority Rights. A Practical Guide to Developing Comprehensive Anti-Discrimination Legislation (Geneva, 2023), p. xxiii. GE.24-00944