A/68/268 to self-identify as belonging to a religious minority or not to do so, and does not limit her attention to officially recognized groups. Consequently, references to “religious minorities” encompass a broad range of religious or belief communities, traditional and non-traditional, whether recognized by the State or not, and include more recently established faith or belief groups that seek the protection of their rights under minority rights standards. Non-believers, atheists or agnostics may also face challenges and discrimination and require protection of their rights. C. Considerations on the rights of religious minorities under international law 27. International human rights standards have been built on the foundation of non-discrimination. The premise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is that everyone should enjoy their rights “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status” (art. 2). The insistence on non-discrimination and equal enjoyment of human rights serves as the uncompromising premise of all subsequent norms in all human rights treaties and declarations. Enjoyment without discrimination also serves as the whole rationale behind minority rights. 28. While clearly falling within the scope of the 1992 Declaration on Minorities, which explicitly provides for four categories of minority groups (national, ethnic, religious and linguistic), attention to religious minorities has frequently historically fallen under international standards relevant to freedom of religion and belief. 29. The 1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (see General Assembly resolution 36/55) does not explicitly mention religious minorities. However, it establishes non-discrimination and equality as key principles. Article 2, paragraph 1, stresses that no one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons or person on the grounds of religion or belief. Article 3 clearly establishes that discrimination between human beings on the grounds of religion or belief constitutes an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. 30. Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (see General Assembly resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex) provides 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. Article 27, which is the most important, is a legally binding treaty provision dedicated to minorities. Its scope extends beyond freedom of religion or belief, while fully preserving the substance of the provisions of article 18 on freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Nazila Ghanea, however, has pointed out the dearth of consideration of religious minorities as minorities in the jurisprudence of the Human Rights Committee on article 27 and their overall exclusion to date from consideration under article 27. 6 __________________ 6 8/23 Nazila Ghanea, “Are Religious Minorities Really Minorities?”, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, Vol. 1, No. 1 (2012), pp. 57-79. 13-41869