Annex I 169 Minorities; and the Council of Europe, which has adopted several instruments of relevance for minorities. In the United Nations, cooperation can take place through the Working Group on Minorities. 79. The treaty bodies, in particular the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on the Rights of the Child, can also play important roles in this regard. (See also below under article 9.) ARTICLE 8 8.1 Nothing in the present Declaration shall prevent the fulfilment of international obligations of States in relation to persons belonging to minorities. In particular, States shall fulfil in good faith the obligations and commitments they have assumed under international treaties and agreements to which they are parties. 80. The Declaration does not replace or modify existing international obligations in favour of persons belonging to minorities. It is an addition to, not a substitute for, commitments already made. 8.2 The exercise of the rights set forth in the present Declaration shall not prejudice the enjoyment by all persons of universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms. 81. The rights of specific categories of persons are supplementary to the universally recognized rights of every person. The Declaration is intended to strengthen the implementation of human rights in regard to persons belonging to minorities, but not to weaken for anyone the enjoyment of universal human rights. Consequently, the exercise of rights under the Declaration must not negatively affect the enjoyment of human rights for persons who do not belong to a minority, nor for persons who belong to the minority. In their efforts to preserve the collective identity of the minority, agencies of the minority concerned cannot on the basis of the Declaration adopt measures which interfere with the individual human rights of any person belonging to that minority. 8.3 Measures taken by States to ensure the effective enjoyment of the rights set forth in the present Declaration shall not prima facie be considered contrary to the principle of equality contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 82. In accordance with article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Article 2 of the Universal Declaration provides that everyone is entitled to all the rights set out in that declaration without distinction of any kind such as race, language, religion or national origin. The question has been raised as to whether special measures in favour of national or ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities constitute a distinction in the enjoyment of human rights. The same question could be put with even greater emphasis with respect to the definition of racial discrimination contained in article 1.1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which reads: “The term ‘racial discrimination’ shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life.” The question would then be whether special measures under the Declaration on Minorities, which would indeed be taken on the basis of “national or ethnic origin”, would constitute a preference and therefore constitute impermissible discrimination.