Addressing hate speech is a common cause of minorities in the Western Balkans

The minorities in the Western Balkans region face many different challenges, but they also have common causes, and addressing hate speech in all its forms is one of them. Working together to combat this harmful practice promises to bring more results. This became clear during the Western Balkans Network Meeting, organised on 6-8 March 2025 in Skopje, North Macedonia by the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) with the support of NALAS and R.C.C. DROM.

Government and local representatives, institutions and minority organisations from the Western Balkan countries, as well as from France, Ukraine and Romania took part in the event. The participants of the Minorities in the Western Balkans meeting agreed on a Statement covering hate speech, education issues and the siuation of Roma.

The participants welcomed FUEN’s involvement in combating hate speech, urged states to combat it with legislation, enforcement and the full force of law, and called on the international organisations to update their legal provisions and adopt new standards to protect minorities against hate speech.

The participants agreed that education in minority languages is the first and most important step for people belonging to minority communities to preserve their identity. They also discussed the role education has in the fight against hate speech and against discrimination in general. “States must ensure that minorities, their history, culture and language are presented in the majority education school curricula in an accurate, balanced, professional and relatable way, fostering understanding between majority and minorities” – says the statement.

Political instability and social unrest often brings with itself a decline in the rights of minorities. Upholding the minority rights in the Western Balkans countries is crucial for the minorities, and it is also an essential requirement of the EU accession process, a common goal of minority communities. The participants emphasized that regardless of the internal and international situation, communication channels between the majority and the minorities must remain open, and expects FUEN to facilitate good communication in the interest of minorities and society.

The situation of the Roma minorities in the region needs special attention. The participants called for real solutions to the situation of the Roma minorities and for FUEN to continue to represent the interests of these communities at EU level. According tot he participants, anti-Roma attitudes, discrimination, and marginalization of Roma communities must be actively combatted and eliminated in Western Balkan countries in accordance with the active politics and measures of the European Union.

The representatives of Roma organisations and institutions proposed to use the expression „anti-Roma“ instead of „antigypsyism“ and „anticyganismus“. The participants supported this proposal.