Minority rights-based approaches to the protection and promotion of the rights of religious minorities 2013, para. 31
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The Declaration on Minorities, inspired by article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, establishes the responsibility of States to ensure the protection of minority religious identity. However, importantly, it goes much further in its scope and elaborates positive requirements for the protection of minority group rights beyond freedom of religion and religious identity. Article 1, paragraph 1, establishes 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. Article 1, paragraph 2, requires a positive obligation on States to adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to achieve those ends. Throughout the Declaration, the positive obligations of States to protect and promote minority rights are emphasized.