Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities


SPECIAL FILE

      CONFERENCE TO MARK THE 5th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES, 30-31 OCTOBER 2003

    The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities entered into force in 1998. Seventeen States ratified it at the time. In order to mark the 5th anniversary of its entry into force, the Council of Europe is organising a conference in Strasbourg on 30 and 31 October 2003, which will bring together a large number of representatives of governments, civil society, minorities as well as eminent experts in the field of minorities. [more]

    Programme

    List of participants

    Photo gallery

      PARTICIPATION, MEDIA AND EDUCATION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES

    Creating the Conditions necessary for the Effective Participation of Persons belonging to National Minorities by Marc Weller, Director of ECMI

    This report assesses the results of the monitoring of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in relation to the issue of effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities. The presentation is principally focused on Article 15 of the Framework Convention (FCNM) (more)



    Persons belonging to National Minorities and the Media by Karol Jakubowicz, Expert, National Broadcasting Council of Poland; Vice-Chairman, Steering Committee on the Mass Media, Council of Europe

    In this paper, I propose to provide an overview of the issues identified by the Advisory Committee in its Opinions under the relevant provisions of the FCNM on media and by the Committee of Ministers in its Resolutions and analyse how these were addressed by the monitoring bodies, including the recommendations made and to provide a critical evaluation of the interpretation made by the monitoring bodies of the FCNM (more)

    Educational Rights of Persons belonging to National Minorities by Duncan Wilson, Associate expert, International Bureau of Education, UNESCO.

    This papers offers a fist attempt to collect and critique the opinions of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention (ACFC) focussing on rights in, to and through education (more)


    Conclusions of the Conference by the General Rapporteur Patrick Thornberry, Professor of International Law, University of Keele

    I start with a remark that we live in interesting times, considering the changes that are around us. The continuing construction of Europe and processes that have accelerated political change present challenges to the whole range of international institutions, and place stresses and strains on [the] political and normative fabric of States. Globalisation adds its own dimensions, impinging on cultures, prompting the flow of migrants, causing us to ask fresh questions about national and regional identities, about personal identity, forcing a sense of oneness in this world, an outward looking cosmopolitism on the positive side, offering threats to diversity and human security on the negative side. (more)

      EURONEWS REPORT


    The television news channel Euronews has made a report on the Conference to mark the Fifth Anniversary of the Framework Convention on National Minorities. The film, which lasts about 8 minutes, features interviews with participants at the Conference, as well as an experiment in inter-cultural understanding at a school in Mulhouse.
    The report is available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

    Link to video

      INTERVIEW WITH RAINER HOFMANN, PRESIDENT OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES

      Question: The Convention covers very many fields, such as education and the use of minority languages, relations with various authorities, cultural life or transfrontier contacts: are there fields in which its practical application is easier than others?

      Rainer Hofmann: In our view, religious freedom, freedom of association and prevention of any “forced assimilation” are the fields which are best respected, particularly as these aspects are already included in the general principles of human rights guaranteed by all the States. In contrast, educational and media policies and questions connected with representation of minorities at national level are frequently more problematic. (more)


      PAPERS OF THE CONFERENCE

      New : ECMI DATABASE ON THE FCNM (a project supported by the Council of Europe)

      On the occasion of the conference on the 5th anniversary of the entry into force of the FCNM, ECMI launched a database which includes the negotiating history of the Convention, other international instruments adopted by the Council of Europe and other international organizations, the state reports submitted by member states, the opinions of the Advisory Committee, the responses by States, and the Recommendations adopted by the Committee of Ministers. This database is presented an article-by-article