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Committee on Minorities Rights

 
 
Members of the Committee on Minorities Rights
  • Hristo Goci(Albania)
  • N.N.(Bulgaria)
  • Steryiu Samara(Romania)
  • Nako Nikolovski(R. of Macedonia)
  • Sutiri Bletsa(Greece)
  • Rapo Kapurani(Albania)
  • Custica Canacheu(Romania)
 
 Two legal instruments for protection of minorities
 
Concerning the protection of the national minorities, the Council of Europe adopted two major legal instruments — The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML). These two instruments highlight the importance of the preservation and protection of minority languages and of the relationship between minority and state languages. The last year(2008) was celebrated the 10-th anniversary of the ECRML, a unique legal instrument which has no parallel elsewhere in the world.
 
 
The Right to be recognised as Minority


The existence of an ethnic, religious or linguistic minority does not depend on a decision by that State. The existence of a minority must be established by objective criteria. The most obiective criteria is the right of minority to self-identification. A minority is a minority when this could be seen. The existence of a minority is “a matter of fact, not a matter of law” said the International Court of Justice in the interwar period.

The most important thing that a minority claims is the right to its existence. Many minority groups are at risk of genocide or "ethnic cleansing" because of religious, linguistic or ethnic association or affiliation, that is a historical contemporary evidence.
 
The major lacuna in the international law that could be identified is that, there is no international mechanism that can reverse a state´s refusal to recognise the existence of a minority group.
 
The European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC) invited persons belonging to national minorities, non-governmental organisations and experts working in the field of minority protection to provide their input into a study on indicators for assessing the impact of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM).
 
This consultation will feed into an evaluation process of the Framework Convention's impact in its State Parties.

The consultation process was launched in Strasbourg during the conference to mark the 10th anniversary of the FCNM's entry into force held on 9-10 October 2008. The aim of the study is to identify indicators that would help to review the impact of the FCNM in the legislative and political environment as well as in the field of the judiciary. 
 
The protection of national minorities is essential to stability, democratic security and peace in Europe. A pluralist democratic society should respect the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of each person belonging to a national minority, should also create appropriate conditions enabling them to express, preserve and develop this identity. 
 
The creation of a climate of tolerance and dialogue is necessary to enable cultural diversity to be a source and a factor, not of division, but of enrichment for each society.
 
"Any attempt to impose an identity on a person, or on a group of persons, is inadmissible" - the principle set out in Article 3 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.
 
 
On the occasion of the Anniversary of their National Day, on 23-rd of May, thousands of Armans(Macedonarmans) demonstrate in Bucharest, since 2006 almost each year, taking their protest to the streets of Bucharest.
 
They protest the fact that since the 1905 recognition as a distinct people in Balkan, by the Otoman Empire, is totally ignored by the Romanian Government that does not really recognize  this people as a minority in Romania.
 
Many written protests made by the leaders of The Arman Community of Romania, community which counts more than ten thousand members, have always been ignored by the Government and remain, for more than three years, without results.
 
Based on the Romanian Laws, only groups with a recognized minority status are allowed to have schools teaching in their mother tongue, with mother tongue books and curriculum. They need this because the only place to practice the Arman language is at home since they do not have an officially recognized public forum to exercise their freedoms.
 
The main aim of the Arman Community is to preserve and develop the Arman language,traditions and the entire spiritual and cultural armân specific.
 
Even demarches concerning the application of the Recommendation 1333/1997 have unfortunately failed because in acordance with national legislation the Armâns can not enjoy the specific rigths of the persons belonging to ethnic groups as they are not de jure recognised as a national minority.
 
  
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 

Minderheiten, "Alles was Recht ist...!!!"
Bolzano, 25-27 Okt. 2006
 

Zusammenarbeit ist die  notwendige Voraussetzung für Minderheiten, nur Gemeinsam kann man etwas bewegen um viel erreichen zu können. Europapolitik, spielt im diesen Sinne eine entscheidende Rolle.

 
Die  Minderheitentagung „Minderheiten „Alles was Recht ist…!!!“ hatte am Mittwoch den 25 Oktober 2006 begonnen und andauerte bis Freitag Abend den 27 Oktober. Bereits am Mittwoch Abend hatte im Rahmen der Minderheitentagung die Erstaufführung des Films „“The Wind That Shakes the Barley“ von Ken Loach stattgefunden.
 
Bei der Tagung ging es es vor allem um die rechtliche Situation der verschiedenen Minderheiten in Europa und um den Vergleich der Lebenssituationen und die Vernetzung untereinander.

 
 
 
Der Europaparlamentarier, Michl Ebner, skizzirte in seiner Rede, den Werdegang des europäischen Minderheitenschutzes, vom Anfang(80er Jahre) bis zur Europäischen Verfassung in unseren Tagen.
Es wurde nachmals auf die Wichtigkeit der Europäischen Institutionen für den Minderheitenschutz sowie auf die Probleme des Minderheitenschutzes auf europäischer Ebene hingewiesen.


In den Europäischen Verträgen ist der Minderheitenschutz leider nicht festgeschrieben, zu nutzen sei aber die Erfolge  für den Minderheitenschutz im Grundrechte- und im Verfassungskonvent.
Wenn man etwas erreichen will, eine Vernetzung der Sprachminderheit in Europa gilt als unerlässlich.
 
Die derzeitige Zusammenarbeit unter den verschiedenen Minderheitenorganisationen funktioniert nicht so wie sie sollte.
Das Einrichten einer gemeinsamen ständigen Arbeitsgruppe die an der Eurac(Europäische Akademie) in Bozen angesiedelt sein sollte, soll auch für eine strattegische Zussamenarbeit für die nächsten Jahre bis zu einer gemeinsamen Struktur in Brüssel sorgen.
 
 
The Council of Macedonarmans wurde bei dieser Minderheitentagung von einer Delegation von 4 Personen representiert.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 UNO Forum on Minority Issues
 15-16 Dec.2008, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland
 
 

Taking into consideration the article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as other relevant existing international standards and national legislations, taking note of several reports of the Working Group on Minorities  which emphasizes the need for a mechanism to serve as forum for dialogue and mutual understanding on minority rights issues, and also taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, The Human Rights Council decides to establish a forum on minority issues to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, which shall provide thematic contributions and expertise to the work of the independent expert on minority issues.

 

The inaugural session of the Forum took place on 15 and 16 December 2008 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. The thematic focus of this first session of the Forum was "Minorities and the Right to Education".
 
The Forum was opened by the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Martin Ihoeghian Uhomoibhi, and opening remarks were made by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Independent Expert on Minority Issues , and the Chairperson of the Forum.

The Forum analysed the best practices, challenges, opportunities and initiatives for the further implementation of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.
 
The Forum was open to the participation of States, United Nations mechanisms, bodies and specialized agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental organizations, regional organizations and mechanisms in the field of human rights, national human rights institutions and other relevant national bodies, academics and experts on minority issues and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council.
 
The Forum was also open to other non-governmental organizations whose aims and purposes are in conformity with the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
 
 
Over 370 individuals were accredited from all categories to participate in the Forum, including delegates from over 40 States and representatives of some 90 NGOs.
 
The Macedonarman Council accredited a delegation of three persons to attend this inaugural session of the Forum.
 
The views of experts and participants from minority communities were given a particularly high priority within the proceedings of the Forum. Several experts from each region were identified on the basis of criteria including their belonging to a minority group and their professional expertise in the field of education, particularly as it interfaces with the rights and experiences of minorities.
 
On the basis of the provisions of resolution 6/15 and in the wider context of promoting implementation of the Declaration in all regions, the focus of discussions was broadly based around three core elements: identification of challenges and problems facing minorities and States; identification of good practices in relation to minorities and education; and consideration of opportunities, initiatives and solutions.
 
The participants were invited to target their contributions towards developing, improving and refining the draft recommendations, which was prepared and circulated prior to the Forum, as the subsequent outcome recommendations document.
 
Pursuant to resolution 6/15, a summary of the discussions at the Forum was prepared by the Chairperson, and thematic recommendations by the Forum were reported to the Human Rights Council and included in the Independent Expert’s annual report to the Human Rights Council’s 10th session in March 2009.
 
 
 
Documents