168 PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS are not negatively affected by the measures implied in the cooperation envisaged; and secondly, to ensure that persons belonging to minorities can benefit as much as members of majorities from that cooperation. The notion of “due regard” means that proper weight should be given to the interests of the minorities, all factors taken into account. An assessment should be made of the likely impact of the cooperation on the affected minorities. This should be an integral part of any feasibility study. ARTICLE 6 States should cooperate on questions relating to persons belonging to minorities, inter alia by exchanging information and experiences, in order to promote mutual understanding and confidence. 75. Two sets of considerations underlie this provision. One is to share and exchange knowledge about good practices, whereby States can learn from each other. The other is to promote mutual understanding and trust. The latter is of particular importance. 76. Situations involving minorities often have international repercussions. Tensions between States have arisen in the past and in some cases continue in the present over the treatment of minorities, particularly in relations between the home State of a given minority and other States where persons belonging to the same ethnic, religious or linguistic group reside. Such tensions can affect the security of the countries involved and create a difficult political atmosphere, both internally and internationally. 77. Article 6 encourages States to cooperate in order to find constructive solutions to situations involving minorities. In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, States should observe the principle of non‑intervention in their bilateral relations. They should abstain from any use of force and also from any encouragement of the use of violence by parties to group conflicts in other States, and should take all necessary measures to prevent incursion by any armed group or mercenaries into other States in order to participate in group conflicts. On the other hand, they should, in their bilateral relations, engage in constructive cooperation to facilitate, on a reciprocal basis, the protection of equality and promotion of group identities. One approach, much used in Central and Eastern Europe, is for States to conclude bilateral treaties or other arrangements concerning good neighbourly relations based on the principles of the Charter and on international human rights law, combining commitments of strict non‑intervention with provisions for cooperation in promoting conditions for the maintenance of group identities and transborder contacts by persons belonging to minorities. Provisions on minorities contained in such treaties and other bilateral arrangements should be based on universal and regional instruments relating to equality, non‑discrimination and minority rights. Such treaties should include provisions for the settlement of disputes regarding their implementation. ARTICLE 7 States should cooperate in order to promote respect for the rights set forth in the present Declaration. 78. The cooperation called for in article 7 can be undertaken at the regional and subregional levels, as well as at the level of the United  Nations. At the European level, a number of intergovernmental mechanisms and procedures have been established whose purpose, at least partially, is to promote in a peaceful way the rights of minorities and achieve constructive group accommodation. These mechanisms include the Council of the Baltic Sea States and its Commissioner on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, including the Rights of Persons belonging to Minorities; the OSCE, with its Office of the High Commissioner on National