May 2004

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UN ADOPTS THREE RESOLUTIONS / DECISIONS ON MINORITIES, ONE AFFECTING LINGUISTIC MINORITIES (Minority Rights Group)

May 2004 – The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) adopted by consensus on 20 April, at its 60th session, one resolution and two decisions on minorities. As regards the resolution, it is on the Rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities and it refers to the Declaration of the same name, adopted in 1992. With this resolution the Commission on Human Rights urges all States to promote and protect the rights of such persons and to take all the necessary constitutional, legislative, administrative and other measures to promote and give effect to the above-mentioned Declaration, including the provision of equal access to education. It also urges them to pay specific attention to the negative impact of racism and related intolerance on the situation of such persons. Moreover, it calls upon States to give special attention to the promotion and protection of the human rights of children belonging to minorities, taking into account that girls and boys might face different types of risks. And it also welcomes the efforts of the Working Group on Minorities and invites the High Commissioner to continue efforts to improve coordination and cooperation among United Nations agencies and programmes active in the field of minority rights. The text was introduced by the representative of Austria and it was sponsored by 54 states, including 28 European states, among which are 17 EU member states: Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. As regards the two decisions, the first one creates a voluntary fund for minority-related activities; however, it still has to be approved by the General Assembly or the Secretary General and it relies on states making financial contributions to it, and, as yet, none of them have shown great enthusiasm to contribute funds, MRG reports. Finally, as for the second decision, it merely “takes note” of a recommendation to establish an international year for the world’s minorities and encourages UN agencies to cooperate to contribute to the implementation of the Declaration.