There is no universally accepted definition within international law

Passage A

There is no universally accepted definition within
international law for the term “national minority.” It is
most commonly applied to (1) groups of persons—not
necessarily citizens—under the jurisdiction of one
(5) country who have ethnic ties to another “homeland”
country, or (2) groups of citizens of a country who
have lasting ties to that country and have no such ties
to any other country, but are distinguished from the
majority of the population by ethnicity, religion, or
(10) language. The terms “people” and “nation” are also
vaguely defined in international agreements. Documents
that refer to a “nation” generally link the term to the
concept of “nationalism,” which is often associated
with ties to land. It also connotes sovereignty, for
(15) which reason, perhaps, “people” is often used instead
of “nation” for groups subject to a colonial power.

While the lack of definition of the terms “minority,”
“people,” and “nation” presents difficulties to numerous
minority groups, this lack is particularly problematic
(20) for the Roma (Gypsies). The Roma are not a colonized
people, they do not have a homeland, and many do not
bear ties to any currently existing country. Some Roma
are not even citizens of any country, in part because of
their nomadic way of life, which developed in response
(25) to centuries of fleeing persecution. Instead, they have
ethnic and linguistic ties to other groups of Roma that
reside in other countries.

Passage B

Capotorti’s definition of a minority includes four
empirical criteria—a group’s being numerically smaller
(30) than the rest of the population of the state; their
being nondominant; their having distinctive ethnic, linguistic,
or religious characteristics; and their desiring to
preserve their own culture—and one legal criterion,
that they be citizens of the state in question. This last
(35) element can be problematic, given the previous
nomadic character of the Roma, that they still cross borders
between European states to avoid persecution, and that
some states have denied them citizenship, and thus
minority status. Because this element essentially
(40) grants the state the arbitrary right to decide if the
Roma constitute a minority without reference to
empirical characteristics, it seems patently unfair that
it should be included in the definition.

However, the Roma easily fulfill the four
(45) objective elements of Capotorti’s definition and
should, therefore, be considered a minority in all major
European states. Numerically, they are nowhere near a
majority, though they number in the hundreds of
thousands, even millions, in some states. Their
(50) nondominant position is evident—they are not even
acknowledged as a minority in some states. The Roma
have a number of distinctive linguistic, ethnic, and
religious characteristics. For example, most speak
Romani, an Indo-European language descended from
(55) Sanskrit. Roma groups also have their own distinctive
legal and court systems, which are group oriented
rather than individual-rights oriented. That they have
preserved their language, customs, and identity
through centuries of persecution is evidence enough
(60) of their desire to preserve their culture.

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of passage A?

(A) Different definitions of certain key terms in international law conflict with one another in their application to the Roma.
(B) In at least some countries in which they live, the Roma are not generally considered a minority group.
(C) The lack of agreement regarding the definitions of such terms as “minority,” “people,” and “nation” is partly due to the unclear application of the terms to groups such as the Roma.
(D) Any attempt to define such concepts as people, nation, or minority group will probably fail to apply to certain borderline cases such as the Roma.
(E) The absence of a clear, generally agreed-upon understanding of what constitutes a people, nation, or minority group is a problem, especially in relation to the Roma.

2. The term “problematic” has which one of the following meanings in both passage A (line 19) and passage B (line 35)?

(A) giving rise to intense debate
(B) confusing and unclear
(C) resulting in difficulties
(D) difficult to solve
(E) theoretically incoherent

3. Which one of the following claims about the Roma is NOT made in passage A?

(A) Those living in one country have ethnic ties to Roma in other countries.
(B) Some of them practice a nomadic way of life.
(C) They, as a people, have no recognizable homeland.
(D) In some countries, their population exceeds one million.
(E) The lack of a completely satisfactory definition of “minority” is a greater problem for them than for most.

4. The authors’ views regarding the status of the Roma can most accurately be described in which one of the following ways?

(A) The author of passage A, but not the author of passage B, disapproves of the latitude that international law allows individual states in determining their relations to nomadic Roma populations.
(B) The author of passage B, but not the author of passage A, considers the problems of the Roma to be a noteworthy example of how international law can be ineffective.
(C) The author of passage B, but not the author of passage A, considers the Roma to be a paradigmatic example of a people who do not constitute a nation.
(D) Both authors would prefer that the political issues involving the Roma be resolved on a case-by-case basis within each individual country rather than through international law.
(E) Both authors consider the problems that the Roma face in relation to international law to be anomalous and special.

5. The relationship between which one of the following pairs of documents is most analogous to the relationship between passage A and passage B?

(A) “The Lack of Clear-Cut Criteria for Classifying Jobs as Technical Causes Problems for Welders” and “A Point-by-Point Argument That Welding Fulfills the Union’s Criteria for Classification of Jobs as ‘Technical’”
(B) “Why the Current Criteria for Professional Competence in Welding Have Not Been Effectively Applied” and “A Review of the Essential Elements of Any Formal Statement of Professional Standards”
(C) “The Need for a Revised Definition of the Concept of Welding in Relation to Other Technical Jobs” and “An Enumeration and Description of the Essential Job Duties Usually Carried Out by Union Welders”
(D) “The Lack of Competent Welders in Our Company Can Be Attributed to a General Disregard for Professional and Technical Staff Recruitment” and “A Discussion of the Factors That Companies Should Consider in Recruiting Employees”
(E) “The Conceptual Links Between Professionalism and Technical Expertise” and “A Refutation of the Union’s Position Regarding Which Types of Jobs Should Ben Classified as Neither Professional nor Technical”

6. Which one of the following is a principle that can be most reasonably considered to underlie the reasoning in both of the passages?

(A) A definition that is vaguely formulated cannot serve as the basis for the provisions contained in a document of international law.
(B) A minority group’s not being officially recognized as such by the government that has jurisdiction over it can be detrimental to the group’s interests.
(C) Provisions in international law that apply only to minority groups should not be considered valid.
(D) Governments should recognize the legal and court systems used by minority populations within their jurisdictions.
(E) A group that often moves back and forth across a boundary between two countries can be legitimately considered citizens of both countries.