A/HRC/19/56 C. Recognition of minorities 26. Article 1 of the Declaration requires that “States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity”. The Declaration on Minorities does not provide a comprehensive or legally binding definition of which groups can be considered to constitute minorities or provide detailed criteria for according minority status. In all regions there are national, ethnic, religious or linguistic communities that are not recognized as minorities by States and therefore may not be fully benefiting from minority rights as required by the Declaration. The independent expert considers that States should take an inclusive approach and interpret the Declaration in a progressive and unrestrictive way to ensure that both long-established and relatively newly established minorities enjoy their minority rights. 27. The independent expert welcomes the work of her predecessor relating to the rights and status of some persons belonging to specific communities in all regions that find themselves denied or deprived of citizenship, legal rights to remain, or recognition as legitimate minority groups. In many cases individuals, including children belonging to such groups who may have been born in their country of residence are rendered stateless. The independent expert will continue to raise the issues of specific affected communities. In cases where individuals have lived in a country for a period commensurate with their establishing well-developed community, social, economic and familial ties with that country, every consideration should be given by the State to granting them citizenship or legal rights to remain and all of their human rights as individuals and members of a minority group. 28. The independent expert notes with concern that a number of States maintain national ideologies or policies that impose restrictive criteria relating to official recognition of minority status. This may result in approaches to human rights, socio-economic policy, development, and poverty reduction, for example, that may fail to recognize the distinct circumstances, problems and experiences, including experiences of discrimination and exclusion, of persons belonging to disadvantaged national, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. Approaches which do not recognize minorities, or acknowledge that certain population groups may face distinct challenges, do not allow for the opportunity for key tools and resources for non-discrimination and equality to be employed, including the use of disaggregated data and affirmative action measures targeted towards disadvantaged minorities. 29. The independent expert will seek to expand the understanding relating to the recognition of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and those groups frequently described as “new minorities”. D. Cross-cutting issues: Youth and women belonging to minorities 30. The independent expert recognizes the role and potential of young men and women within minority communities to inspire and promote change and develop positive relations across communities as well as being agents of change within their communities. Young people from both minority and majority communities have different experiences from those of older generations and bring different perceptions, including with regard to their national, ethnic, religious and linguistic and other aspects of their identity, and their interactions with those from communities that are not their own. In all aspects of her work as mandate holder, the independent expert will seek to engage with young people from minorities to learn about their views and ideas and to encourage them to take leadership roles and engage in positive activities to promote inter-cultural dialogue. 9