FUEN’s European Dialogue Forum Participated in the 17th Session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues

The European Dialogue Forum (EDF) of the FUEN participated in the 17th session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues, held in Geneva (Switzerland) on 28–29 November 2024. The Forum focused on the topic “Minority Representation and Self-Representation in Public Spaces and Discourses” and brought together states, UN agencies, human rights organisations, experts, NGOs, and minority representatives from around the world.

The EDF delegation included FUEN Vice President Olivia Schubert, a member of the German minority in Hungary, Volodymyr Leysle, a representative of the German minority in Ukraine, as well as the Brussels-based EDF coordinator Kateryna Haertel.

During the session on „Minority Representation in Public Spaces“, Olivia Schubert delivered an intervention on behalf of FUEN’s 119 member organisations from 38 countries. She underlined FUEN’s mission to preserving and promoting the rights, identities, languages, and cultures of minorities. In her statement, Schubert also mentioned FUEN’s Minority SafePack Initiative that calls for stronger EU measures to safeguard minority rights.

Furthermore, the FUEN Vice President reminded the Forum that in the European Union, 50 million people belong to traditional national or linguistic minorities, representing 89% of Europe’s linguistic diversity. However, she expressed concern over the increasing restrictions on minority rights, as confirmed during FUEN’s Ewald Ammende International Expert Conference held in March 2024 in Brussels (Belgium).

To increase minority protection, Schubert emphasised that FUEN supports concrete steps forward, including (1) a global treaty on minority rights, as proposed by former UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Fernand de Varennes, (2) the establishment of a permanent UN Forum on Minority Issues, and (3) regular dialogue between the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the civil society to address challenges faced by traditional and linguistic minorities.

She concluded her intervention by expressing FUEN’s reliance on the support of UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Prof. Nicolas Levrat to advance minority rights and build on the work of his predecessor.

Volodymyr Leysle also addressed the Forum with an intervention, focusing on the challenges faced by the German minority in war-affected Ukraine. As participant in the Minorities Fellowship Programme organised by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Leysle shared insights into the situation of his community. The Fellowship Programme was established in 2005 and provides minority rights defenders with a training on UN institutions and mechanisms related to human rights and minority rights.

In addition to the main sessions of the UN Forum, the EDF delegation actively participated in several side events. These included discussions on the challenges of cultural expression for minorities, organised by the Minority Rights Group (MRG); a panel on minority media, jointly hosted by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) and the European Language Equality Network (ELEN); and an event focusing on the OHCHR Minority Fellowship Programme.

The Forum offered a valuable opportunity for the EDF delegation to network with other participants, including members of the FUEN Working Group of Turkic Minorities/Communities (TAG), and to exchange strategies for advancing minority rights.

For more information on the 17th session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues, visit its official website.