In international law, there are often population groups within each nation that have specific history and needs that differ from that of the rest of the population. These groups present an ongoing issue for the governance of a nation when population groups may conflict over differing needs.

Ethnic Groups

An ethnic group is a group of people that is based on a common cultural or biological heritage. An example would be the gypsies of Eastern and Southern Europe. Some ethnic groups are specifically recognized by their countries as such and gain special rights from that recognition.

Minorities

A minority group in a country is a group that is outnumbered population-wise by a majority group. For all practical purposes, a majority group also usually has a higher social status or controls the political power in the country. The minority group may be based on several different commonalities, including ethnicity, language, religion, or culture.

Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous peoples are people who lived in an area prior to the formal political organization of the territory and their descendants. Indigenous people are also sometimes called natives or aborigines. The United Nations defines indigenous peoples as people who, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them. Examples of indigenous peoples include the Basques in Northern Spain, the Pygmies in Africa, and the Australian Aborigines.

Common Issues

Conflicts may occur between the majority group in a country and the minority, or between different ethnic groups, or between indigenous populations and subsequent settlers. At issue is often who has the right to control the future of that territory.

There are several international documents respecting the treatment of these groups of people. They include the 1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the 1989 Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal People in Independent Countries, and the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

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