A/HRC/55/51 Religious and Linguistic Minorities declares that States should protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and should encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity. 38. What the Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight and emphasize in implementing his mandate is that the protection and promotion of minority identities, as enshrined in article 1 of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, is not requested only for the benefit of persons belonging to a minority group, but also for the benefit of society as a whole. Here again, as in the case of diversity (see paras. 25–28 above), there is a two-level situation as regards the reference to society as a whole. 39. At the upper level, the society referred to is the international community. That level is explicitly referred to in the sixth preambular paragraph of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, which emphasizes that the constant promotion and realization of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, as an integral part of the development of society as a whole and within a democratic framework based on the rule of law, contributes to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation among peoples and States. That emphasis refers to the main function initially assigned to the international recognition and protection of minority rights, in accordance with the minority protection scheme set forth under the auspices of the League of Nations. The idea was to enhance and protect the situation of persons belonging to a national minority under an international regime, with the aim of avoiding kin-State intervention in a neighbouring State under the pretext of protecting persons belonging to its national minority.23 Promoting and protecting the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities is a strong factor for pacification within the international community and helps guarantee friendly relations among States. Otherwise, the risk of political instrumentalization – for example, the invocation by the Russian Federation of the alleged mistreatment of Russian-speaking persons by Ukraine in 2022 in an attempt to justify an armed conflict 24 – will always remain a threat to peace. There is therefore no underestimation of that fundamental and decisive dimension in the recognition and protection of the rights of persons belonging to a minority group as a contribution to a peaceful international society. 40. In addition to the benefit of a peaceful international society of States, there exists a considerable benefit for the society of individual States (sometimes referred to as “national community”). The fifth preambular paragraph of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities explicitly refers to that dimension by stating that the promotion and protection of the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities contribute to the political and social stability of States in which they live.25 Thus, the recognition, protection and promotion of minority identities should not only be considered for the good of persons belonging to minority groups, but also as a significant contribution to a diverse and vibrant, as well as more stable, national identity. Supporting such a conceptual approach, a considerable number of studies in the field of business management have shown that diversity in companies and laboratories generates more creativity and better productivity. 26 The same reasoning is true as regard biodiversity, which is required to maintain a healthy and sustainable environment for human beings. 27 It is thus asserted by the General Assembly that the promotion and 23 24 25 26 27 10 See Joe Verhoeven, “Les principales étapes de la protection internationale des minorités”, Revue trimestrielle des droits de l’homme (1997), pp. 177–203. See International Court of Justice, “Application instituting proceedings filed in the Registry of the Court on 26 February 2022: allegations of genocide under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Ukraine v. Russian Federation)”, especially paras. 18 and 19. The reference in the sixth preambular paragraph to “society as a whole” also refers to this dimension of “national society”. See, for example, Kristen Intemann, “Why diversity matters: understanding and applying the diversity component of the National Science Foundation’s broader impacts criterion”, Social Epistemology, vol. 23, Nos. 3–4 (2009), pp. 249–266; and Vivian Hunt and others, “Delivering through diversity” (McKinsey & Company, 2018). Unai Pascual and others, “Biodiversity and the challenge of pluralism”, Nature Sustainability, vol. 4, No. 7 (2021), pp. 567–572. GE.24-00944