Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension Issues, Warsaw, 26 October - 6 November 1998

1 October 1999

Mr Moderator,

Now that we see a growing cooperation between the OSCE and the Council of Europe, helped recently by a seminar of the Dutch government, it is a good time to go further and have a thorough review of the ways open to protect and promote the rights of national minorities in Europe. A greater sharing of information with civil society is essential, alongside a broad-ranging strategic review.

Minority Rights Group International (MRG) has worked on minority issues for almost 30 years now and has played an active role in standard setting, monitoring and helping to implement the rights of minorities in a wide range of fora from the United Nations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe to specific projects in more than 20 different states. The issues are complex, covering social, economic and cultural rights and civil and political rights that have an individual and a collective dimension. They affect not only the well-being of specific communities, but inter-community relations and pose immense challenges.

At present there is a great danger of duplication, dissipation of effort and confusion. There is no strategic coherence in European intergovernmental work with minorities, despite its proclaimed importance by states and intergovernmental bodies to peace, security and stability within Europe. The Vienna Heads of State meeting in 1993 made very clear the importance of combating racism.

The UN also has a range of mechanisms putting forward minority issues that need to be considered. These range from the Security Council and the General Assembly (with its six committees) to the High Commissioner on Human Rights, the Commission on Human Rights, the Sub-Commission, the Working Group on Minorities, the treaty-monitoring bodies including those for the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Convention on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, inter alia, all of which have some relevance to minorities. There are rapporteurs, world conferences - including the World Conference on Racism due in 2001 - as well as the UN agencies such as UNICEF, UNESCO, UNHCR and UNDP.

The Council of Europe has not been left behind. It has a Parliamentary Assembly, a Committee of Ministers (and deputies), a Human Rights Directorate, a proposed European Commissioner for Human Rights, and coordination of the regional meeting on the World Conference on Racism. Additionally, there is a European Commission against Racism and Intolerance and Conferences of Ombudsmen. There are treaty-monitoring bodies for the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter, the Convention on the Prevention of Torture and, last but by no means least, the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities. In addition there is a Committee on Human Rights (CDH), a sub-committee on Minorities (DH-Min) and a specialist group on Roma affairs.

In the OSCE region there are a host of mechanisms, some of which we probably do not know about. There is the Parliamentary Assembly, the High Commissioner on National Minorities, the Baltic States High Commissioner, there are many long-standing and short-term missions, there is the Permanent Council, committee meetings, seminars and ad hoc meetings in both Vienna and Warsaw and, of course, the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights.

We are tempted to say oh dear - as this list does not include the multiplicity of European Union mechanisms, including their important funding opportunities.

This year the Netherlands government, in organizing a series of seminars on coordination between the OSCE and the Council of Europe, clearly recognized that there is a great danger of duplication, dissipation of effort and confusion, while there could be synergy and support.

At a minimum, there is need for easily understood, transparent information on the competencies of these organs and a description of their current work available to civil society, including minority groups. It is widely agreed by NGOs that human rights work should be in the public domain wherever possible, and the use of Web sites, as suggested earlier by the USA delegation, can be valuable.

Additionally, there is a need for some strategic coherence in European work with minorities, to ensure that peace, security and stability is advanced through a concerted effort to promote inter-community cooperation within Europe. We recommend that, as a first stage, the OSCE itself should undertake such a strategic review of it own work with minorities.

This strategic review should involve different ethnic groups, men and women, and be in partnership with minority organizations and civil society generally. This is to ensure that the highest level of protection and the best forms of promotion are agreed, and to ensure that political goodwill is converted into positive good practice.

Thank you, Mr Moderator.