A/CONF.189/PC.1/7 page 41 3 Treaty-monitoring mechanisms provided for in many conventions, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination of 21 December 1965; extra-conventional mechanisms and the appointment of special rapporteurs on racial issues and the protection of minorities and on forms of intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief. 4 One author has counted over 30 terms used to designate minority groups in the world: race, ethnic group, ethnic minority, linguistic minority, national minority, founding people, constituent people, indigenous people, native population, tribal peoples, distinct people, cultural community, distinct society, nationality, cohabiting nationality, etc. See Yacoub, op. cit., p. 840. 5 Faith, belief, sect, new cults, minority religion, religious minority, age-old religion, major religions, traditional religion(s), etc. 6 Domestic legislation (constitution, laws, etc.) will not be studied in a section of its own. It will be studied either in relation to the analysis of certain concepts important to this study (chap. I) or in relation to the factual aspects of discrimination (chap. II). 7 This kind of discrimination can affect several categories of persons, including individuals, religious groups and religious minorities who are not ethnically different from the rest of the population but who do not belong to, or who state that they do not belong to, the dominant religion. 8 There may of course be other kinds of aggravation resulting from identification with multiple groups: religious and sexist, ethnic religious and sexist, or even religious, ethnic and sexist, in contravention of article 2, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 20 November 1989. 9 This is particularly true of some Orthodox churches (Armenian, Georgian, etc.) and, to some extent, the Jews and the Sikhs. See Asbjørn Eide, “Possible ways and means of facilitating the peaceful and constructive solution of problems involving minorities” (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1992/37, para. 93). 10 This element makes it possible to distinguish minorities from minority religions. The concept of a minority religion seems to be much more vague; its followers are often citizens with no desire to differentiate themselves from others. One day, they simply embrace a religion that is not the religion of most of their compatriots. See, in particular, Jacques Robert, “Constitution et religions minoritaires”, Recueil de l’Académie internationale de droit constitutionnel, CERP, 1994, Tunis, p. 176. 11 “Study on the rights of persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities”, United Nations, New York, 1991, E/CN.4/Sub.2/384/Rev.1 (sales No. F.91.XIV.2), para. 564.