text: would welcome knowing how that could be achieved. The perceptions of E/CN.4/Sub.2/1990/SR.l0 page 4 majorities, minorities and external observers might all differ and the perception of the areas of conflict by minorities, as a subjective value judgement, was crucial to understanding the situation. 12. Mr. Eide had asked if a distinction should be drawn between "settled" minorities and "recent immigrant" minorities noting that, for recent immigrant groups, the main concern should be to ensure equality as far as possible. That might be a useful distinction but, as Mr. van Boven had pointed out, it would need handling with great care. It might be reasonably argued that migrant workers who were only on short-term contracts in a country could not have a long-term commitment to the State and could not therefore expect special rights to be made available to them as a group. However, refugees sometimes remained a long time in the new country and might join "settled" minorities. Indeed, the misnomer of "immigrant" was often used in Europe to describe second and third generations of ethnic minorities who were full citizens of a country. Those people had been excluded from the majority society at the outset, partly out of prejudice and partly because of the free choice and temporary nature argument. Generations later, however, the exclusion continued. Although in law they might have equality, in practice there was no equality of opportunity and the social and economic disadvantage was passed on to subsequent generations. Special measures were needed at an early stage to prevent a new community becoming marginalized, embittered and then potentially in conflict with society. The questionnaire should reflect the breadth of that issue. 13. In the experience of his organization, much might be learned from the numerical concentration of a minority either in a region or nationally. It 
analysis: The text appears to be discussing social and human rights issues related to minorities, including their treatment, equality, and potential conflict with the majority society. The discussion focuses on the importance of understanding the perspectives of minorities, the need for special measures to prevent marginalization, and the role of education in addressing social and economic disadvantage. These themes suggest that the text is related to human rights and social issues rather than purely economic or environmental concerns.