Right of effective participation of minorities in society

27 May 2002

SUB-COMMISSION FOR THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
WORKING GROUP ON MINORITIES
8TH SESSION
Geneva 27th - 31st 2002
ITEM 3(b)

Minority Rights Group International
Speaker: Chris Chapman

Thank you Mr Chairman,

I represent Minority Rights Group International. I would like to make a brief intervention to draw the attention of all present to MRG’s publication, Public Participation and Minorities, by the eminent professor of Public Law, Yash Ghai. This report is a very useful resource for all interested in the issue being discussed here, of the “Rights of effective participation of minorities in the society of which they form a part”. It outlines many frameworks for the participation of minorities in decision-making processes, and cites examples from a wide number of countries.

Unfortunately the report is available in electronic form only at present, as it has sold out. MRG intends to reprint it, but in the meantime it can be obtained from MRG’s website in PDF format, or by e-mail on request.

The report also contains recommendations for ensuring effective participation of minorities in all areas of public life, a selection of which I would like to cite here.

• All states and regional intergovernmental organisations should provide for and facilitate the effective participation rights of minorities and indigenous peoples in keeping with international norms.
• Because citizenship is generally the key to participation rights, those states that have restrictive laws on the acquisition of citizenship should review their laws to enable people who move from one state to another for settlement purposes to acquire citizenship.
• States should guarantee to immigrants key participation rights at the national and local levels after, at most, five years of residence.
• States should devise electoral laws to encourage political parties to broaden their appeal to members of minorities and indigenous peoples and require or encourage political parties to nominate a minimum specified proportion of candidates from minorities and indigenous peoples.
• Legislative procedures should allow representatives of minorities and indigenous peoples, and minority-representative institutions, a special role – such as initiation, prior consultation and special voting rights – regarding any bill with a major bearing on minority rights.
• States engaged in post-conflict transition should adopt systems of power sharing, at least for a limited period, and such power sharing should be based wherever possible on parties rather than on ethnicity.
• Group or cultural autonomy should be provided when the minority or indigenous people desires it. Group autonomy should be based on self-identification, allowing individual members of minorities and indigenous peoples to opt out of that autonomy. Within territorial or group autonomy arrangements, there should be provisions to protect the rights and legitimated interests of women and of groups that become minorities as a result of the autonomy.
• States should set up institutions, such as minorities ombudspersons to ensure fair treatment of minorities and indigenous peoples, and the promotion of minority and indigenous participation in public and economic life.
  

Thank you, Mr Chairman.