A/HRC/55/51 free to invoke or not these additional rights. This is in line with the very important concept of self-identification, which is also well described in article 3 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.20 Persons belonging to a minority may, individually and freely, choose to be treated or not to be treated as belonging to the minority group, and instead try integrating themselves within the majority group of the country in which they live. Neither other members of the minority group, nor State authorities, can deny that right and deprive an individual of the enjoyment, as a human being equal to all, of human rights. That right to choose is a fundamental, individual human right. Given the social practices of some minority groups as part of their traditional identity, the issue is particularly sensitive as regards the equal enjoyment of rights by men and women within their social structures. One of the major benefits of the emergence of the concept of individual human rights has been the emancipation of many persons from being assigned a specific place and role in society, resulting from their belonging to a given social group – be it a group defined by socioeconomic, ethnic, linguistic, religious, gender or any other characteristics. Recognizing the specific additional rights to non-discrimination of persons belonging to a minority group or the right of a minority group to conserve, express and promote its identity as a group should not be to the detriment of the individual rights persons are entitled to as holders of universal human rights. That is also a complex minority issue. 21 35. The way in which the two provisions (article 3 of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities and article 3 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities) that address that issue are worded seems to recognize the precedence of the individual right to choose over any specific minority right. The Special Rapporteur is of the opinion that that is not an issue of hierarchy of rights. The general right to be treated without discrimination by the State under the jurisdiction of which a person happens to be and the additional right to receive specific treatment as a person belonging to a minority group can both be realized simultaneously. 36. As carefully pointed out by the Human Rights Committee in its general comment No. 23 (1994), as well as through the title of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, 22 there are no rights in positive international law recognized as belonging to minorities as such. Persons belonging to minority groups have specific rights, but the minorities themselves do not. Therefore, if a tension were to arise between the individual rights of a person – de facto sharing the constitutive element of an existing minority group, but not willing to be treated as a member of the group – and the claim for a distinct and specific implementation of human rights for the benefit of other members of that minority group, it would not be a conflict between an individual right and a collective right, but a conflict between different individual rights and their simultaneous enjoyment by different persons. Such horizontal conflicts between human rights is nothing new for human rights law and thus this specific type of conflicting individual rights should be treated as such. The Special Rapporteur will try to explore that issue – which is complex and delicate – in more depth during the tenure of his mandate and, hopefully, formulate useful proposals to help arbitrate such horizontal conflicts between members of a minority group. C. Minorities’ identities as a contribution to national identity 37. A third key element in the vision of the Special Rapporteur is the importance of highlighting the substantial and positive contribution of minorities to society as a whole. One of the central issues in recognizing and protecting minorities is to allow them to maintain and promote their own identity, as a group distinct from the majority of the population. Thus, article 1 of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, 20 21 22 GE.24-00944 Article 3 (1) of the Convention reads as follows: “Every person belonging to a national minority shall have the right freely to choose to be treated or not to be treated as such and no disadvantage shall result from this choice or from the exercise of the rights which are connected to that choice.” For a good illustration of the complexity of such an issue, see European Court of Human Rights, Molla Sali v. Greece, Application No. 20452/14, Judgment, 19 December 2018. Article 3 (2) of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities also expresses the same position. It reads as follows: “Persons belonging to national minorities may exercise the rights and enjoy the freedoms flowing from the principles enshrined in the present framework Convention individually as well as in community with others.” 9