Minority rights promote social integration.
Minority rights are the powers and faculties of persons who make up a minority social group . These are norms and principles that specifically concern those who, for reasons of gender, ethnicity, race, language or religion, do not form part of the predominant groups.
To understand the concept precisely, it is essential to analyze the terms that shape it. A right is a power or ability that entitles an individual to demand or do what the law grants in his favor or what is considered to be derived from the human condition. In this framework, a minority is the population sector that differs from the majority of society by language, race or other characteristic.
Ensuring and promoting minority rights ultimately contributes to equality , provides protection against hatred and discrimination, and upholds the premise of non-discrimination.
Characteristics of minority rights
The notion of minority rights refers both to individual rights that are enforced by one person and to collective rights that are granted to a certain community. The key lies in the idea of a minority, which is not easy to define in this context.
We can talk about racial minorities , ethnic minorities , sexual minorities , linguistic minorities and religious minorities , among others. For the United Nations ( UN ), a minority is defined de facto since there are no regulations that establish requirements, limits or scopes. In turn, the UN indicates that the qualification of a group as a minority involves objective issues (a language, an ethnicity , etc.) but also subjective issues (among them, the self-recognition of the members as part of a certain community ).
Thus, it is only possible to consider the rights of minorities when it is precisely defined what a minority is. This step is essential in order to then agree on which social groups constitute a minority in a nation and what specific rights must be protected so that its members retain their cultural autonomy , their beliefs and the rest of the particularities that make up their identity .
Defending minority rights promotes multiculturalism.
The 1992 declaration
Today, minority rights are governed primarily by the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities , a document adopted by the UN General Assembly in late 1992 . This declaration establishes the basic standards required for the proper management of diversity and for promoting the self-determination of these groups, while also safeguarding human rights.
The text states that States must recognize the existence and protect the identity of minorities living in their territory. Members of minorities also have the right to intervene in regional and national decisions affecting their group, provided that such intervention is not incompatible with national laws.
This UN declaration also points out that state policies must be planned and implemented with the interests of those who make up minorities in mind. This contributes to peace and security and helps to minimize social inequality .
Many minority rights help combat economic exclusion and poverty.
Examples of minority rights
Minority rights can be protected in many ways. Take the specific case of indigenous rights . Aboriginal communities are often granted rights to land and natural resources by being given the right to manage lands rooted in the group. Their right to language is also recognized through bilingual education provided by the State.
When it comes to sexual minorities and LGBTQ+ rights , the right to work of the transgender population is often guaranteed by establishing mandatory quotas in the State and in companies that have more than a certain number of employees. In this way, to avoid gender discrimination and promote integration , it is mandatory to hire trans workers who meet certain requirements. Specifically, these measures represent a case of positive discrimination to assist historically disadvantaged individuals.
This set of rights includes the rights of the disabled , such as the possibility of using public transport free of charge or parking their vehicles in any space without restrictions. If we think of religious freedom , state authorities must ensure the right to secular education so that everyone can maintain their creed and profess their beliefs.
It is very important to keep in mind that minority rights do not replace other rights . In other words, someone who is part of a minority can have certain guarantees or safeguards for belonging to that group, but they also have the rights that those who make up the majority of society have. Returning to the case of the right to work of the transgender community, beyond the quota, these workers have the right to paid vacations, sick leave, retirement and the rest of the protections and benefits that all people enjoy according to the labor legislation of their country.