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Ref. DC 159(2016) Managing diversity through minority rights: Council of Europe’s national minorities body launches new guidance document Strasbourg, 11.10.2016 – Creating a Europe open to diversity, a Europe where no minority fears the majority is the underlying theme of a new guidance document for European state launched today at a Council of Europe’s conference in Strasbourg. “We live in times of rising nationalism, xenophobia, fear and suspicion,” said Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland. “More than ever we must defend the rights of minorities and groups at risk of discrimination. And it is more important than ever that we demonstrate the benefits of their inclusion into society as a whole.” The new Thematic Commentary prepared by the Council of Europe’s Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) looks at how the Committee interprets the Convention and how states parties could best use it to ensure successful integration of minorities without their forced assimilation. The right to free self-identification is a cornerstone of minority rights, the document says. Minority identity must not be externally imposed, participation in the census and data collection should be voluntary; people should never be obliged to choose between preserving their minority identity and claiming the majority culture. The Commentary examines the criteria applied by the states parties to establish to whom to afford the protection of the Convention. These criteria include formal recognition, citizenship, length of residency, territoriality, substantial numbers, support by “kin-states”, and specific identity markers (language, religion, culture). The key problem with all these approaches, according to the Advisory Committee, is that they automatically exclude or even discriminate against certain groups and thus risk widening the gap in the society. To avoid this, states parties must be flexible and exercise an article-by-article approach to see what works best for each specific group in each specific context. Some of the rights spelled out in the Convention, such as protection against discrimination, hostility and hate crime; promotion of mutual respect and intercultural dialogue apply to all persons, and not only those belonging to national minorities. As for disputed territories or regions, the Advisory Committee observed that the applicability of the rights is not altered as a result of the change in de facto authority. Moreover, the rights of persons belonging to national minorities often gain a particular urgency in times of conflict, especially if the continuation of regular monitoring activities is affected. The Advisory Committee reiterates its call on all parties to take a constructive approach to safeguarding the rights of everyone in the conflict areas. The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities adopted in 1995, in the aftermath of violent conflicts in Europe, is the only legally binding international instrument on the rights of persons belonging to national minorities. Currently, the Convention has 39 states parties; and a special monitoring arrangement exists for Kosovo(*). Belgium, Greece, Iceland and Luxembourg have signed the Convention, but have not ratified it yet. Andorra, France, Monaco and Turkey have neither signed nor ratified the treaty. “FCNM: diversity through minority rights” (factsheet) Video: interview with Mr. Peter Leuprecht, one of the founding fathers of the FCNM Contact: Tatiana Baeva, Spokesperson/Press officer, Tel.+33 388 41 21 41 ----------------- (*) All references to Kosovo, whether the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nation's Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo. |
