Article 30: Children from minority groups

Convention text

If there are ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities in a country, or Indigenous peoples, children who belong to those groups must not be denied the right to enjoy their own culture, to practise their own religion, or to use their own language.

Key point

A child from a minority group has the right to speak their own language and to enjoy their own culture.

Explanation

A minority group is a group of people with a different culture who make up a small part of the population. That different culture may include a different language or religion. In some countries, this includes Indigenous peoples: groups who often lived in the country long before other population groups arrived. The government must make sure that children from a minority group are allowed, for example, to speak their own language and practise their own religion.

If a tradition of a minority group is harmful to a child, the government must protect the child from it. A child from a minority group must also not be discriminated against. You can read more about this in Article 2: Non-discrimination.

General Comment

General Comment No. 11 on the Convention gives more information about the rights of Indigenous children.