This chapter connects with the previous chapter’s exploration about the significance of group identity and relates to the establishment and securing of the legal status of specific communities both within political systems and broader in the global society. Ethnicity, as a form of group identity, remains a challenged concept in psychology and political theory, with ongoing debates about whether it is primarily rooted in individual or collective experience. Nonetheless, it is widely accepted that individuals derive a sense of belonging and self-esteem through identification with groups that possess societal value. Although international law has traditionally maintained an individualistic orientation in its human rights framework—largely due to the perception of collective entities as potential threats to state sovereignty and territorial integrity—there have been notable shifts in this approach. While states continue to exercise caution by recognizing only a limited range of group rights within their jurisdictions, international legal standards have gradually evolved to affirm the importance of collective rights in preserving identity and fostering group cohesion. These include the rights of peoples, minority rights (primarily framed as individual rights for members of minority groups), and the rights of indigenous peoples—each of which carries significant collective dimensions. Despite ongoing state reluctance, these internationally recognized collective rights provide essential protections for the identities of distinct communities and even lend legitimacy to group-based claims in a legal system historically centred on individual rights. The chapter further focuses on the right to self-determination, the minority rights mainly safeguarded by the regional legal frameworks, and the evolving legal recognition and protection of indigenous peoples’ rights, as the most recently recognized category of rights holders under international law.