A/CONF.189/PC.1/7 page 20 the teaching or the collective and public practice of religions. The preamble, however, expresses the States parties’ commitment to the relevant international instruments (1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1966 Covenants and 1990 Cairo Declaration). Asian region 69. Asia is a mosaic of ethnic groups with many religions. The Declaration on the Fundamental Duties of Asian Peoples and States, adopted by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand on 9 December 1983, introduces the concept of “cultural communities” and “Asian values”, while including a large number of provisions aimed at combating discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, identity or ethnic origin. The Americas 70. The relevant instrument with regard to the American continent is the American Convention on Human Rights (also known as the “Pact of San José, Costa Rica”), adopted on 22 November 1969. Article 12 of the Convention is modelled on article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, with three differences. First, freedom of conscience and religion concerns not only religion, in the usual sense of the word, but also “beliefs”. Second, this freedom also includes the freedom “to profess or disseminate one’s religion or beliefs”.84 Lastly, unlike the somewhat vague obligation in article 18, paragraph 3, of the Covenant, parents or guardians can demand from States the right to provide their children or wards with education that is in accordance with their beliefs. The European system 71. The European system is the most highly developed of the regional systems in terms of both the standards produced and the clarification in case law of many of its rules, some of which, moreover, are the same as those in universal instruments (the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Of all the relevant provisions, articles 14 and 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights of 4 November 1950 are of crucial importance. Article 14 prohibits, for the first time in international law, discrimination on grounds of “association with a national minority”. While no instrument currently in force, including in Europe, provides a definition of this concept, it may be assumed it should not be understood in purely linguistic or cultural terms, but also in terms of potential ethnic or religious characteristics. This is because, while the identity of a minority is often defined by religion, religious identity seems to be difficult to distinguish from other attributes of the identity of peoples and of individuals (ethnic, racial, etc.). Moreover, article 9 guarantees freedom of religion and belief. However, its specificity lies in its “public order” restriction, which is far more precise in nature and limits it to the requirements of democracy and pluralism. 72. Other instruments - mostly drawn up within the framework of the Council of Europe attest to the importance and urgency of the minority question in Europe. They include the proposal for a European convention for the protection of minorities, adopted on 18 February 1991 by the European Commission for Democracy through Law, the draft additional protocol on minorities to the European Convention on Human Rights, 1 February 1993,85 and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities,