MINELRES: CoE statement: 10th anniversary of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
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Sat Feb 2 15:56:05 2008
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Press release - 071(2008)
10th anniversary of the Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities
Statement by Jan Kubis, Chairman of the Committee of Ministers
Strasbourg, 01.02.2008 - Jan Kubis, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Slovak Republic and chairman-in-office of the Committee of Ministers,
said the 10th anniversary of the entry into force of the Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities was an important
day in the Council of Europe�s efforts to protect and promote human
rights in Europe, of which the rights of persons belonging to national
minorities are part and parcel. Mr. Kubis recalled that the Convention
was the first legally-binding multilateral instrument on minority
protection.
Minister Kubis stressed that the effective protection of the rights of
persons belonging to national minorities was a core issue for the
Council of Europe. The Committee of Ministers, assisted by the Advisory
Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities, regularly upholds the rights of persons belonging to
national minorities in its work and the monitoring results of the
Framework Convention have gained increased visibility. The rights
embodied in the Framework Convention obviously contribute to the
strengthening of cooperation among European democracies on the basis of
objective standards. He also pointed out that the legal and practical
improvements noted in most of the countries covered by the convention
attested to the important role and place the Framework Convention has in
strengthening the legal guarantees of these rights in the system of
minority protection.
Minister Kubis emphasised that the ten year anniversary was a good time
to sum up the experience gathered in implementing the Framework
Convention and to reflect on its specific influence in increasing the
level of minority protection. With this in mind, under the Slovak
Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, a conference will be
organised on 11 March to discuss the future impact of the Framework
Convention.
***
The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities has
so far been ratified by 39 European states and signed by four more. In
the past decade, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention and
the Committee of Ministers have carried out two exercises monitoring
countries� compliance with the Framework Convention.
Council of Europe Press Division
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
[email protected]
www.coe.int/press
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