The Comment discusses the responsibility of States Parties to ensure every citizen's rights to participate in public affairs, have access to public services, vote and be elected with no discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights gives people the right to determine their political status and form of government freely.

The Comment concerns the rights of minorities, who are not to be denied the right to enjoy their culture, practice their religion, or speak their own language. The Committee differentiates between the right to self-determination and the rights guaranteed in Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in order to avoid any future confusion between the two. Specifically, Article 27 guarantees rights to individuals, whereas the right to self-determination applies to groups.

The Comment discusses the responsibility of States Parties to ensure every citizen's rights to participate in public affairs, have access to public services, vote and be elected with no discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights gives people the right to determine their political status and form of government freely.

The Comment discusses the responsibility of States Parties' to ensure protection and enforcement of rights and freedoms guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for all people in their territory, regardless of citizenship. These rights and freedoms include protection from discrimination. The obligation to respect and ensure the rights that are guaranteed by the Covenant should take effect immediately.

This recommendation calls upon states to combat racism in sport through legislation, education and institutional measures.

This recommendation calls on member states to ensure that anti-terrorism measures are adopted and implemented in a manner that is non-discriminatory. In particular, it proposes that the "right not to be subject to racial discrimination" should be "among the rights from which no derogation may be made even in time of emergency."

This recommendation calls on states to adopt legislative, policy and judicial measures against racism and related prejudices.

This recommendation calls on states to establish specialised bodies to combat racism and related forms of prejudice. The appendix to the Recommendation has sections on the terms of reference, functions and style of operation of these bodies.

This recommendation calls on member states to effectively deal with racism against the Romani minority through legislative and policy measures. These include measures directed towards combating the prejudices of public service and media personnel. The Recommendation stresses the importance of the participation of Romani individuals in decision-making.

This recommendation calls on governments to undertake national surveys on how people belonging to marginalised communities perceive discrimination in their lives so as to gain an understanding of the problems of racism and intolerance from the perspective of the people affected by it.