A/HRC/7/23 page 14 be noted that there are developed countries that are not States parties to the Covenant and some that have attached reservations or declarations to their ratifications that are designed to permit distinctions between how they approach the economic rights of citizens and non-citizens. D. Citizenship and the enjoyment of minority rights 41. In interpreting article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Human Rights Committee stated in its general comment No. 15, that where aliens constitute a minority within the meaning of article 27, they should not be denied the right, in community with other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion and to use their own language. Moreover, in its general comment No. 23 on rights of minorities, the Committee took that principle a step further by asserting that, insofar as minority rights were applicable to minorities that existed within a State’s territory, the individuals designed to be protected need not be citizens of the State party; neither was it relevant to determine the degree of permanence that the term exist connotes. Just as they need not be nationals or citizens, they need not be permanent residents. Thus, migrant workers or even visitors in a State party constituting such minorities were entitled not to be denied the exercise of those rights. This position is further buttressed by the principle that the existence of a national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minority in a given State does not depend upon a decision by that State but rather is to be established by objective criteria.20 Indeed, various suggestions to include citizenship as a necessary element in definitions of minorities have been rejected.21 42. Similarly, the European Court accepted as admissible alleged violations of the European Convention irrespective of the fact that the persons belonging to the affected minorities were not citizens of States parties concerned.22 43. Discussions have gone beyond examining citizenship as the sole determining criterion to define access to certain minority rights; other elements, such as the length of residency in a State, have gained relevance in this analysis. In its commentary on the 1992 Declaration on Minorities, the Working Group on Minorities, while restating the general principle that citizenship as such should not be a distinguishing criterion to exclude some persons or groups from enjoying minority rights, argued that other factors could be relevant. Those minorities which, for example, 20 General comment No. 23: The rights of minorities (art. 27), 8 April 1994, para. 5.2. 21 For example, in 1979, the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities refused to endorse Special Rapporteur Francesco Capotorti’s suggested definition of a minority, as it included citizenship as one of its elements. Moreover, there is a risk, and State practice in Europe demonstrates, that such inclusion of citizenship as a criterion within States’ definitions of minorities, could lead to legitimizing the denial of minority rights to non-citizen minorities. See report on Non-citizens and Minority Rights, paras. 10, 20-31 respectively. 22 European Commission for Democracy Through Law, Report on Non-citizens and Minority Rights, CDL-AD(2007)001, Venice, 15-16 December 2006, para. 18.