Promoting and Protecting Minority Rights a Guide for Advocates
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Promoting and Protecting Minority Rights A Guide for Advocates Designed and printed by the Publishing Service, United Nations publications United Nations, Geneva — GE.13-40538 Sales No. E.13.XIV.1 July 2013 — 3,452 — HR/PUB/12/7 ISBN 978-92-1-154197-7 Promoting and Protecting Minority Rights A Guide for Advocates Geneva and New York, 2012 ii PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS Note The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. * * * Symbols of United Nations documents are composed of capital letters combined with figures. Mention of such a figure indicates a reference to a United Nations document. HR/PUB/12/7 Sales No. E.13.XIV.1 ISBN 978-92-1-154197-7 eISBN 978-92-1-056280-5 © 2012 United Nations All worldwide rights reserved Minority rights focus in the United Nations iii Foreword I am delighted that this publication, Promoting and Protecting Minority Rights: A Guide for Minority Rights Advocates, comes before you as we celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. This anniversary gives us the opportunity to look back on the 20 years of promoting the Declaration and use that experience to plan and strategize for the future, to decide how best to bring this Declaration further to the fore of human rights discussions taking place all over the world and discuss its implementation. It is our hope that the Guide will be a true vade mecum, assisting civil society to engage even more effectively in this important and immense task. Whether we are talking about democracy-building following the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East or ensuring human rights in the context of the global economic downturn; about sustainable development in the context of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio+20”) or about guaranteeing effective participation of minorities, including minority women and girls, in all spheres of life, worldwide; minority issues need to maintain their rightful place on the agendas of decision makers. In this anniversary year, my Office is increasing its engagement on minority rights even further. We are organizing a series of subregional and regional events to address most topical minority issues and we pursue a range of awareness-raising activities. We are taking the lead in the formation and coordination of the United Nations Network on Racial Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, a new platform aiming to enhance cooperation and dialogue on minorities across the United Nations system. All this is in addition to already established work on minority rights, which includes field-presence engagement on minority issues, capacity-building for minority rights activists through the Minorities Fellowship Programme, supporting the mandate of the Independent Expert on minority issues and the annual Forum on Minority Issues. Please visit our website to make sure you have all the latest information on these activities. It is our role as human rights defenders to ensure that the rights of national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities are highlighted and taken into account. We hope that this Guide will prove to be a valuable tool for minority rights advocates, helping them place minority rights on the agenda, where this has not yet been done, or make sure they stay there and are adequately addressed. In the international, regional and national discussions framed by the “all human rights for all” principle, we must work together to make sure that minorities are not left out. Towards this end, the Guide explains, in a reader-friendly way, who are the main actors working on minority issues in the United Nations and in key regional organizations, and what are the best ways of engaging them. Minorities enrich the societies of each and every country in the world. Through working on guaranteeing their rights, our chief aims must be that no one will be afraid to self-identify as a member of a minority, fearing disadvantage will come out of that decision; that persons belonging to minorities will be guaranteed protection of their existence and identity; and that they will benefit from the principles of effective participation and non-discrimination. Let this publication guide us in working towards making this a reality for all persons belonging to minorities, everywhere. Navi Pillay United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Acknowledgements The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights wishes to express its sincere thanks to Hurst Hannum, Professor of International Law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, for his valuable contribution to the preparation of this Guide. In addition, special mention and thanks are due to our United Nations partners and regional organizations that have contributed to the publication. Minority rights focus in the United Nations v Contents Page Foreword ..................................................... iii Introduction ................................................... 1 PART ONE – MINORITY RIGHTS FOCUS IN THE UNITED NATIONS Chapters I. Overview: development of minority rights in international law ............ 2 II. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ...... 8 III. The United Nations Human Rights Council and its subsidiary bodies ........ 21 IV. The United Nations special procedures ............................ 30 V. Human rights treaty bodies .................................... 44 PART TWO – OTHER RELEVANT BODIES IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM VI. The United Nations Development Programme ........................ 64 VII. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees .................. 67 VIII. The United Nations Children’s Fund .............................. 72 IX. The International Labour Organization ............................ 76 X. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ....... 80 PART THREE – REGIONAL SYSTEMS XI. The human rights system of the African Union ........................ 90 XII. The Council of Europe ........................................ 102 XIII. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe .............. 123 XIV. The European Union ......................................... 133 XV. The inter-American human rights system ............................ 143 Annexes I. Core documents Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities .............................. 151 Commentary to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities of the Working Group on Minorities .............................. 154 II. Useful websites ........................................... 171 Minority rights focus in the United Nations 1 INTRODUCTION Today, issues related to the rights of persons belonging to minorities may be found in nearly every human rights instrument and forum. The United Nations and other intergovernmental organizations recognize that minority rights are essential to protect those who wish to preserve and develop values and practices which they share with other members of their community. They also recognize that members of minorities make significant contributions to the richness and diversity of society, and that States which take appropriate measures to recognize and promote minority rights are more likely to remain tolerant and stable. The present Guide offers information related to norms and mechanisms developed to protect the rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities. It includes detailed information about procedures and forums in which minority issues may be raised within the United Nations system and in regional systems. By focusing on the work related to minorities and by also covering selected specialized agencies and regional mechanisms, the present Guide complements information contained in Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society (OHCHR, 2008), which provides practical guidance on the United Nations human rights mechanisms in general.1 The information contained in the Guide is accurate as of 1 January 2012. It is hoped that this Guide will be useful in assisting minority advocates to make full and effective use of existing international mechanisms and, ultimately, to promote and protect the rights guaranteed under international instruments. 1 Available from www.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/CivilSociety/Pages/Handbook.aspx (accessed 29 November 2012). The Handbook is available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish; online, it is also available in Farsi, Georgian and Nepali. An associated DVD was produced in 2011. 1 2 PROMOTING AND PROTECTING MINORITY RIGHTS PART ONE MINORITY RIGHTS FOCUS IN THE UNITED NATIONS CHAPTER I OVERVIEW: DEVELOPMENT OF MINORITY RIGHTS IN INTERNATIONAL LAW Summary: The first significant attempt to identify internationally recognized minority rights was through a number of “minority treaties” adopted under the auspices of the League of Nations. With the creation of the United Nations, attention initially shifted to universal human rights and decolonization.