'On the content of minority right' by John Packer

Date: Fri, 13 Jun 97 19:06:50 -0500
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
To: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Subject: 'On the content of minority right' by John Packer

Dear colleagues, 

Apparently, many of you have already read a very interesting paper of John
Packer (currently adviser to the OSCE High Commissioner on National
Minorities) called 'On the content of minority right' (published in J.Raikka
(ed) Do We Need Minority Rights? 1996, Kluwer Law International, 121-178). 
I would like to draw attention of those who hasn't yet seen this paper. The
discourse is of great importance, in my view. I just quote the first
paragraph: 

"Despite the fact that much has been written about minority rights through
the years, the it may seem surprising that experts still recommend that
"additional thought and and analysis should be given to defining the scope
and content of minority rights" (reference to Hurst Hannum's book - B.).
Explanation for this recommendation is to be found in the fact that
international standard-setting has out-paced articulation of, and consensus
on, basic concepts. In other words, the international community has declared
"rights" and even established procedures through which to pursue respect for
these rights without fully or clearly delimiting either the
subject/beneficiaries of the rights or the content of the rights. This opens
the door to possibly unfounded, unwarranted or "unjust" invocations of the
rights and raises the prospect of social tension and conflict concerning the
legitimacy of claimants and the full content of their rights. It also poses
a difficulty in assessing compliance by States". 

Maybe those who read the paper could share their impressions. 

Boris 
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