ABSTRACT
Although concerted interstate efforts to protect minorities began with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, the dilemma of defining minority identity has existed throughout history. The minority questions brought about by the repartitioning of post–World War 1 (WWI) Europe were resolved in special and general treaties. Nevertheless, the minority concept did include the elements of religion, language, and nationality or ethnicity. This chapter discusses the meaning of group identities under Article 27 and assesses its implications for minority protection. It utilizes the principles and practices of the League of Nations system and the preparatory work, the substance and conclusions, and the subsequent practices of states under the ICCPR to illuminate and explain the development of minority identity concepts. Although "race" is omitted from the ICCPR, its categorical use in the League minority treaties, its significance in group discrimination, and its common, though extra-legal, use in establishing ethnicity tends to merge it with the overlapping group identities.
