Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
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ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES Strasbourg, 13 May 2016 Working document Compilation of Opinions of the Advisory Committee relating to Article 15 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (3rd cycle) “Article 15 The Parties shall create the conditions necessary for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs, in particular those affecting them.” Note: this document was produced as a working document only and does not contain footnotes. For publication purposes, please refer to the original opinions. Third cycle - Art 15 Table of contents 1. Albania Opinion adopted on 23 November 2011 .................................................................3 2. Armenia Opinion adopted on 14 October 2010....................................................................5 3. Austria Opinion adopted on 28 June 2011............................................................................6 4. Azerbaijan Opinion adopted on 10 October 2012 ................................................................9 5. Bosnia and Herzegovina Opinion adopted on 7 March 2013 .............................................11 6. Bulgaria Opinion adopted on 11 February 2014.................................................................17 7. Croatia Opinion adopted on 27 May 2010 .........................................................................22 8. Cyprus Opinion adopted on 19 March 2010.......................................................................26 9. Czech Republic Opinion adopted on 1 July 2011 ................................................................28 10. Denmark Opinion adopted on 31 March 2011...................................................................31 11. Estonia Opinion adopted on 1 April 2011...........................................................................33 12. Finland Opinion adopted on 14 October 2010....................................................................36 13. Germany Adopted on 27 May 2010 ...................................................................................40 14. Hungary Opinion adopted on 18 March 2010 ....................................................................43 15. Ireland Opinion adopted on 10 October 2012....................................................................46 16. Italy Opinion adopted on 15 October 2010 ........................................................................50 17. Kosovo* Opinion adopted on 6 March 2013 ......................................................................54 18. Lithuania Opinion adopted on 28 November 2013.............................................................60 19. Moldova Opinion adopted on 26 June 2009.......................................................................64 20. Norway Opinion adopted on 30 June 2011 ........................................................................68 21. Poland Opinion adopted on 28 November 2013 ................................................................69 22. Portugal Opinion adopted on 4 December 2014 ................................................................73 23. Romania Opinion adopted on 21 March 2012....................................................................75 24. Russian Federation Opinion adopted on 24 November 2011.............................................78 25. Serbia Opinion adopted on 28 November 2013 .................................................................82 26. Slovak Republic Opinion adopted on 28 May 2010............................................................90 27. Slovenia Opinion adopted on 31 March 2011 ....................................................................94 28. Spain Opinion adopted on 22 March 2012.........................................................................97 29. Sweden Opinion adopted on 23 May 2012 ......................................................................102 30. Switzerland Opinion adopted on 5 March 2013...............................................................105 31. “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” Opinion adopted on 30 March 2011 ......107 32. Ukraine Opinion adopted on 18 May 2012 ......................................................................108 33. United Kingdom Opinion adopted on 30 June 2011.........................................................113 As of 13 May 2016, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities had adopted a total of 36 opinions, of which 33 opinions on Article 15. * All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo. 2 Third cycle - Art 15 NOTE Based on the information currently at its disposal, the Advisory Committee considers that implementation of certain articles does not give rise to any specific observations. This statement is not to be understood as signalling that adequate measures have now been taken and that efforts in this respect may be diminished or even halted. On the contrary, the nature of the obligations of the Framework Convention requires a sustained and continued effort by the authorities to respect the principles and achieve the goals of the Framework Convention. Furthermore, a certain state of affairs may be considered acceptable at one stage but that need not necessarily be so in further cycles of monitoring. It may also be the case that issues that appear at one stage of the monitoring to be of relatively minor concern prove over time to have been underestimated. 3 Third cycle - Art 15 1. Albania Opinion adopted on 23 November 2011 Article 15 of the Framework Convention Government bodies responsible for minorities and dialogue with minorities Recommendations from the two previous cycles of monitoring In the previous cycles of monitoring, the Advisory Committee invited the authorities to review the institutional bodies responsible for minorities with a view to establishing regular dialogue and effective decision-making between, on the one hand, a government body enjoying decision-making power and, on the other, organisations representing the various minorities. The Advisory Committee also asked the authorities to enable minorities to articulate their interests and co-ordinate their position by facilitating the establishment of a body along the lines of a minority council. Present situation The Advisory Committee notes with regret that the situation has not changed since the previous monitoring cycle and the State Committee on Minorities established in 2004, continues to operate according to the model elaborated at its inception: on the one hand, it is a governmental body answering directly to the Prime Minister, on the other, its membership, composed of persons belonging to national minorities makes it a quasi-representative body appearing to speak on behalf of some national minorities. The Advisory Committee notes in this regard that members of the State Committee are appointed by the authorities without prior consultation of national minorities. The Advisory Committee regrets that the State Committee on Minorities does not represent all minority groups. In addition it lacks independence and its composition is arbitrary. These shortcomings indicate that persons belonging to some national minorities do not benefit from a truly representative body, which can speak on their behalf and defend their interests on issues concerning them. Recommendation The Advisory Committee urges the authorities to review and revise, preferably within the framework of the adoption of a comprehensive law on national minorities, the composition and the functioning of the institutional bodies responsible for minority issues, with a view to establishing regular dialogue and effective decision-making between, on the one hand, a government body enjoying decision-making power and, on the other hand, organisations which truly represent the various national minorities. Political participation: electoral representation and process Recommendation from the two previous cycles of monitoring In the previous cycles of monitoring, the Advisory Committee asked the authorities to consider ways of increasing the representation of persons belonging to national minorities in Parliament and to ensure that persons belonging to national minorities, who had been excluded from the 4 Third cycle - Art 15 electoral process, owing to the use of birth certificates as identification, were fully included in the electoral process, through the use of identity cards or any other appropriate system. Present situation The Advisory Committee notes that, in November 2008, new electoral legislation was adopted, establishing the proportional representation system based on 12 regional constituencies, with a 3% threshold for parties and a 5% threshold for pre-election coalitions. The new legislation contains no particular provisions either exempting parties representing national minorities from the threshold or introducing reserved seats for representatives of national minorities. The Advisory Committee notes that the new legislation makes it more difficult for smaller political parties to compete in elections and to have their representatives elected to the Parliament. Whereas after the 2005 elections, 14 parties and coalitions were represented