There are several additional international human rights standards that have particular relevance to the situation of minorities. The instruments discussed below could be considered alongside other group-specific instruments such as those for women, children, indigenous peoples, migrants, persons with disabilities and refugees.

The Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide aims to protect⁵⁹ national, ethnical, racial or religious groups (including minorities), from destruction in whole or in part. No treaty body was established to monitor implementation. However, the Convention does foresee the creation of national or international criminal tribunals to try crimes of genocide (article 6). The International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda are examples of such tribunals.

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides for the prosecution of cases that encompass not only the crime of genocide but also crimes against humanity. A list of acts that constitute crimes against humanity is contained in article 7, paragraph 1. The Rome Statue also prohibits persecution against; inter alia, racial, national, ethnic, cultural or religious groups (article 7.1 (h)). Practices such as forced population transfers intended to move persons belonging to minorities away from the territory on which they live, or with that effect, as well as forced sterilizations, would constitute serious breaches of the Rome Statute.

The ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) requires States to adopt and implement national policies to promote and ensure equality of opportunity and treatment in employment, with a view to eliminating direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin (articles 1 and 2). National policies must address discrimination and promote equality, in law and in practice, in the areas of access to education and training, employment services, recruitment, access to particular occupations, as well as terms and conditions of employment.

The 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work provides that all Members of the ILO have an obligation to respect, to promote and to realize the fundamental principles and rights at work (“core labour standards”). These include the principle of non-discrimination in employment and occupation, freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining and the elimination of forced and compulsory labour, as well as child labour. The enjoyment of equality of opportunity and treatment of minorities in work is monitored under this Declaration.

The 1960 UNESCO Convention Against Discrimination in Education governs equality in access to education and to training for teachers as well as providing safeguards for religious or linguistic education and education by national minorities. The importance of providing education that will “promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups” is stressed (article 5.1 (a)).

The 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage safeguards and promotes the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the associated instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage. For this purpose, the Convention establishes a fund and a listing system of representative and endangered heritage.

The 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions encourages States to incorporate culture in national and international development policies and to adopt measures aimed at protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions within their territory. The UNESCO Convention emphasises the recognition of equal dignity and respect for all cultures, including that of persons belonging to minorities. It provides for the freedom to create, produce, disseminate, distribute and have access to traditional cultural expressions, and encourages States to create environments conducive to this.