22.3 Ethnic Rights
From Human Rights by LJM Cooray (1996)

The idea of these rights has arisen in multi-linguistic, multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-religious populations. The notion of equality before the law and equal protection of the law underlies the above rights and is generally included in constitutions which have bills of rights, though in a particular situation it may be available in conjunction with some other right. The idea of equality before the law implies that persons or groups must not be discriminated against without justification. The words "without justification" are relevant. Discrimination is both inevitable and proper in human affairs because of the differences between human beings, accidents (both natural and man induced) and many factors which affect the nurture and development of individuals.