Who is a minority? Who defines a minority? Who are the beneficiaries of minority rights? These questions and the possible responses thereto have been the subject of a number of studies and lengthy debates in many forums in which minority protection has been addressed. No definite answers have been found and no satisfactory universal definition of the term "minority" has proved acceptable. The difficulty in arriving at an acceptable definition lies in the variety of situations in which minorities exist. Some live together in well-defined areas, separated from the dominant part of the population, while others are scattered throughout the national community. Some minorities base a strong sense of collective identity on a well-remembered or recorded history; others retain only a fragmented notion of their common heritage. In certain cases, minorities enjoy - or have known - a considerable degree of autonomy while in others, there is no past history of autonomy or self-government. Some minority groups may require greater protection than others, because they have resided for a longer period of time in a country, or they have a stronger will to maintain and develop their own characteristics.

Despite the difficulty in arriving at a universally acceptable definition, various characteristics of minorities have been identified, which when put together, cover most minority situations. The most commonly used description of a minority in a given State can be summed up as a non-dominant group of individuals who share certain national, ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics which are different from those of the majority population.

The term "minority group" often occurs alongside a discourse of civil rights and collective rights which gained prominence in the 20th century. Members of minority groups are prone to different treatment in the countries and societies in which they live. This discrimination may be directly based on an individual's perceived membership of a minority group, without consideration of that individual's personal achievement. It may also occur indirectly, due to social structures that are not equally accessible to all.