A/79/169 persons belonging to minorities in society as a whole through institutional arrangements. Similarly, having one official State religion makes it more difficult to treat persons belonging to other religions in a non-discriminatory way. 25. Another factor that may play an important role in the effective participation of persons belonging to minorities in public affairs is the geographical distribution of minority groups on the territory of the State in which they live. With regard to both effective participation in decision-making and the provision of public services specifically tailored to the need of persons belonging to a minority, the geographical concentration of persons belonging to a minority group may facilitate institutional solutions. 40 A linguistic minority concentrated in a specific part of the State territory may constitute a relative majority 41 if that territory is constituted as a political and/or administrative unit. Catalonia and Euskadi in Spain constitute interesting examples in that respect. The same will be true with ethnic or national minorities; for example, it could be the case in Tibet, if relevant provisions of the Constitution of China were effectively implemented. 42 The geographical concentration of persons belonging to a minority group will also facilitate the provision of specific services or policies to persons belonging to a minority group. As an example, concerning linguistic minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages distinguishes between “regional and minority languages”, which are “traditionally used within a given territory of a State … and different from the official language(s) of that State” 43 and “non-territorial languages”, which are “languages used by nationals of the State which differ from the language or languages used by the rest of the State’s population but which, although traditionally used within the territory of the State, cannot be identified with a particular area thereof”. 44 For practical reasons, as the European Charter requires services in the fields of education, access to justice, provision of administrative and public services, media, cultural activities and facilities, as well as opportunities for full participation in economic and social life, to be provided in the appropriate regional or minority language, only the article about general principles should be applied “mutatis mutandis” 45 to non-territorial languages; all other detailed and specific provisions concern only “territorially based languages”. As a rule, institutional arrangements allowing better participation of persons belonging to minorities are easier to conceive and more targeted in their effects when persons belonging to minority groups represent a relative majority in part of the territory. At the same time, and beyond the institutional design issue, the Special Rapporteur needs to emphasize the duty of States not to neglect areas principally inhabited by persons belonging to minorities. National social, economic and development policies should not serve to discriminate against or neglect these territories and their populations and should serve to allocate appropriate resources and opportunities to them. __________________ 40 41 42 43 44 45 24-13136 Nicolas Levrat, “Solutions institutionnelles pour des sociétés plurielles”, in Minorités et Organisation de l’Etat: textes présentés au quatrième colloque international du Centre international de la common law en français, Nicolas Levrat (ed.), (Brussels, Bruylant, 1998), pp. 3–90. Persons belonging to a group which is a minority relative to the entire State population may be the largest population group in the specific administrative or political constituency in which they live. In particular, articles 4 and 30, and sections 5 and 6 of chapter III. European Treaty Series no. 148, art. 1; opened for signature on 5 November 1992. European Treaty Series no. 148, art. 1. Ibid., art. 7, para. 5. 13/20