ACFC/56DOC(2016)001 exercise these rights.18 Such individual decisions must, however, not result in disadvantages for other individuals identifying with the same minority by precluding them from claiming their minority rights. In this context, the Advisory Committee has reiterated its view that any numerical thresholds established as a precondition for the applicability of certain minority rights must be interpreted flexibly (see also paragraph 82). Otherwise, an indirect obligation to self-identify would be placed on persons belonging to national minorities in order to ensure that access to a specific right is maintained. At the same time, the individual decision to identify or not to identify with a particular minority must be respected by others who affiliate themselves with the same group and who equally must not exert pressure one way or the other. 13. The right to free self-identification also extends to multiple affiliations. In fact, the Framework Convention implicitly acknowledges multiple affiliations by promoting the preservation of minority identities in parallel to successful and effective integration in broader public life. Persons belonging to national minorities should never be obliged to choose between preserving their minority identity or claiming the majority culture, as both options must be fully available to them.19 This implies that practices by which an individual affiliates with a particular minority should not be seen as exclusive, as he or she may simultaneously identify with other minorities or with the majority.20 In some instances, such a choice may be the consequence of previous assimilation processes into the majority or into another dominant minority. However, this must not be used as an argument against the rights of persons belonging to national minorities to self-identify freely and to claim minority protection. 14. The Advisory Committee has further called on states parties to ensure that all persons and groups who may benefit from the Framework Convention are made aware and enabled to avail themselves of the right to self-identify freely in order to access the rights contained in the Framework Convention. This is the case when the choice of affiliating with a minority is not made difficult in practice and when it is assured that the choice is made free of fear of resulting disadvantages or of loss in social prestige. 2. Free self-identification in the context of census and other general data collection processes 15. In countries where data on national, ethnic or religious affiliation are collected in the context of broader population census exercises, such exercises must be organised and conducted in line with internationally recognised principles, including personal data protection standards.21 It follows further from the right to free self-identification that any 18. Persons belonging to national minorities may for instance take an informed decision to enrol their children in mainstream schools without suffering any disadvantages in terms of access to other minority rights as a result, and without such a decision having an impact on the general availability of minority language education to other members of the same group. 19. See also First and Third Thematic Commentaries (footnotes 2 and 4). 20. This may for instance occur in mixed families where several languages are spoken on an equal basis. 21. In the context of population census exercises, the Advisory Committee has encouraged states parties to adhere to the EUROSTAT/UN recommendations for the organisation of population and housing censuses. See Conference of European Statisticians Recommendations for the 2010 Censuses of Population and Housing, prepared in co-operation with the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, paragraph 426: “respondents should be free to indicate more than one ethnic affiliation or a combination of ethnic affiliations if they wish so”, paragraph 431: “Questions will generally refer to one language only. Multiple languages may be required for the mother tongue and main 8