Peace, Human Rights, and Minorities: Multilateral Responses and the CSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-67
Author(s):  
Rob Zaagman ◽  
Konrad Huber
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Conflict Prevention ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Minority Protection ◽  
Governmental Agencies ◽  
International Response ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
High Commissioner

AbstractThis article attempts to understand concurrent efforts by inter-governmental agencies in the areas of minority protection and ethnic conflict prevention. The analysis specifially aims (1) to assist in differentiating between the numerous inter-governmental organs, bodies, and mechanisms, including the CSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, with a role in addressing minority issues, and (2) to begin the process of identifying interrelationships, overlaps, and gaps in existing capacities. In addition to the High Commissioner, the minority-related activities of the UN, the Council of Europe, and the Council of Baltic Sea States are all reviewed. The essential view is that 'the effectiveness of international response to minority questions lies not in the efficacy of single institutions but in synergetic cooperaton among them'.

Politics and National Minorities: a trade-off between security and justice?

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 298-306
Author(s):  
Walter Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Conflict Prevention ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
The Past ◽  
Track Record ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
High Commissioner

For twenty years, the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities has worked to prevent inter-ethnic conflict. While there are those that have argued that the High Commissioner has ‘securitized’ minority issues by putting too much emphasis on security rather than justice, the past 20 years of the High Commissioner have shown a track record characterised by conflict prevention and “desecuritization”.

The CSCE's (im)possibilities for preventive diplomacy in the context of ethnic conflict

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-54
Author(s):  
Janie Leatherman
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Early Warning ◽  
Conflict Prevention ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Conflict Zones ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The Baltic

AbstractThis article examines the CSCE response to ethnic conflict in the post-Cold War in terms of the High Commissioner on National Minorities' early warning and conflict prevention capabilities in the broader context of the CSCE's potentialities in this area. First, the special challenges of ethnic strife for conflict prevention are examined. Second, the implementation of the CSCE mechanisms and of the High Commissioner mandate is analyzed in terms of the different levels of CSCE involvement as conflict moves from the early warning to the crisis management phase. The role of the High Commissioner in the Baltic States, and the various functions served by the CSCE missions deployed to different conflict and potential conflict zones are highlighted. The conclusions reflect in preliminary fashion on the (im)possibilities of the CSCE approaches for contributing to regional peace and security in the post-Cold War period, and the ways in which CSCE cooperation with other international institutions and non-governmental actors may enhance its capacity to accomplish its objectives.

Quiet Diplomacy, the European Union and Conflict Prevention: Learning from the HCNM on Issues of Social Cohesion

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Johns
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
The Other ◽  
Conflict Prevention ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Minority Protection ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
The Eu

This article examines the issue of social cohesion inside the European Union (EU). While the organisation is currently experiencing an economic crisis the article argues that issues surrounding minority rights are deeper and more troubling. Within the EU’s current and prospective borders there remain issues surrounding national minorities, traditional migrants and intra-EU migrants. The intra-EU migrants are of particular interest in that they bridge the gap between the other two groups as they are migrants – with EU protected rights. This article argues that the EU itself must become involved in the maintenance of social cohesion. It recommends the use of quiet diplomacy, best illustrated by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe High Commissioner on National Minorities. After an examination of the use of quiet diplomacy by the various High Commissioners the article outlines the issues of social cohesion facing the EU. It concludes with the recommendation that the European Commission adopt the tenets of quiet diplomacy as a means of influencing dialogue and to promote minority protection within the union.

scholarly journals The Protection of National Minorities within the Council of Europe: An Analytical Review

2013 ◽  
pp. 141-156
Author(s):  
Jabbar Aslan ◽  
Khabbat Aslani
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Minority Protection ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
Analytical Review

According to the preamble of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which has entered into force on 1 February 1998, minority rights are an integral part of fundamental human rights. This instrument is the ever legally binding treaty in the regional and also universal level that taken on great importance in addressing the challenges of minority protection in evolving and increasingly diverse societies. So, this paper has an analytical approach to the protection of minorities within the Council of Europe and for this, especially, focuses on the Framework Convention: namely its content, its rights-holders, and also- the most important point of view - the problems, challenges and tasks that this legally instrument faces with it in practice. One must take into account that the Framework Convention has passed 13 years of its birth and the authors aim to analyse its achievements and in the same time, its challenges as well. Thus, we reiterate once more that our method is analytical to examine the topic.

Access to Justice for National Minorities – A Recurrent Theme in the Work of the osce High Commissioner on National Minorities

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-194
Author(s):  
Laurentiu Hadirca
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
Political Institution ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
Specific Advice ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Recurrent Theme ◽  
Country Specific

This article provides an overview of the work of the osce hcnm on issues of access to justice for national minorities, based on a review of relevant thematic recommendations, country-specific advice, official statements, as well as other activities, projects and engagements of the hcnm. The article analyses how the hcnm’s specific mandate – as a political institution tasked to prevent inter-ethnic conflict, operating primarily through “quiet diplomacy” – has shaped its approach to human and minority rights, and to access to justice issues in particular. The overview shows that throughout the years, access to justice has become a recurrent, if at times tangential, theme for the institution. Overall, the article seeks to distil the general hcnm approach to access to justice issues as it was conveyed through a variety of thematic recommendations and guidelines, specific advice and other relevant engagements, undertaken in the course of the two-and-a-half decades of the institution’s existence.

Contribution of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and its Advisory Committee to the Effective Participation Rights of National Minorities

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Advisory Committee ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Personal View ◽  
Minority Communities ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
High Commissioner

This article presents a personal view on the contribution of the Framework Convention to the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities. It demonstrates the participatory rights of national minorities that have been safeguarded drawing on the practical experience of monitoring the Framework Convention between 1999 and 2007 and the recent Commentary on Article 15 of the Framework Convention. It covers participation in economic and social life, in public affairs, in the implementation and monitoring of the Framework Convention itself, participation in inter governmental organisations and within minority communities themselves. The article explores some of the outstanding participatory issues and identifies possible remedies. The conclusions emphasise the past synergies and possible future cooperation between the Advisory Committee and the High Commissioner on National Minorities on this issue.

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