FUEN honoured with the Sudeten German Human Rights Award

On Whitsun weekend, from 17 to 19 May 2024, the 74th Sudeten German Day took place in the city of Augsburg (Germany). Under the motto "Sudeten Germans and Czechs – together for Europe", the festive event was all about European cohesion, especially in view of the upcoming European elections.

As always, the event was organised by the Federal Association of the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft. FUEN also took part in the event, which featured numerous speeches, high-ranking panel discussions and a rich cultural programme. During the ceremony, the FUEN was awarded the Sudeten German Human Rights Prize. This prize is awarded at irregular intervals to individuals and institutions that are particularly committed to the realisation of human rights worldwide.

In his laudatory speech for the FUEN, Bernd Posselt, spokesman for the Sudeten German ethnic group and Federal Chairman of the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft, emphasised the role of the national minorities in European unification: "We Sudeten Germans were involved in the Federal Union of European Nationalities from the very beginning, because it was a matter of mixing the mortar for the foundations of European unification". By honouring the FUEN, a sign was being sent "for a Europe of ethnic groups and minorities".

The Sudeten German Human Rights Award was accepted by FUEN Vice-President Olivia Schubert. In her acceptance speech, the Vice Chairwoman of the National Self-Government of Germans in Hungary (LdU) described the award as an "immense responsibility and obligation". The FUEN is "indeed committed to protecting and preserving human rights in times of peace as well as in times of war and conflict. We say: minority rights are human rights – and that is what we stand for," emphasised Schubert.

She praised the Sudeten German community as a bridge builder and emphasised that FUEN also works tirelessly for reconciliation and international understanding and at the same time fights against extremism, exclusion and discrimination of any kind.

Schubert also pointed out that one in seven Europeans belonged to an autochthonous national minority or spoke a regional or minority language. "What we have in common is that we have decided to continue living in our homeland. We want to preserve and develop our identity, our cultures and languages locally," said the FUEN Vice President.

The FUEN is therefore committed to the protection of autochthonous national minorities and language communities – not least through the European citizens' initiative "Minority SafePack", which has collected more than one million signatures to strengthen minority rights at European level. Because "minorities make Europe richer", Schubert emphasised.

During her speech, she also introduced the audience at the Augsburg Exhibition Centre to FUEN's numerous initiatives, including the "Minority Monitor", EUROPEADA, the "Women of Minorities" project launched almost two years ago and the "Mute Hate Speech" campaign.

She concluded her speech with the words: "I would like to express my sincere thanks for the many years of direct and unreserved support and promotion of the Sudeten Germans, which you have now confirmed with the award of this prize. This award means a lot to us and we are very proud of it! Let us continue to work together for human and minority rights, freedom, equality and democracy in the future."

In addition to the prize for the FUEN, there was another honour: Jean-Claude Juncker, the long-standing Prime Minister of Luxembourg and former President of the EU Commission, received the European Charlemagne Prize of the Sudeten Germans. He was honoured for his services to international understanding and European unity. Bernd Posselt described Juncker as an "outstanding statesman who is a Luxembourg patriot and at the same time belongs to no nation state, but to all Europeans". He had "played a decisive role in European integration over the last 50 years, is one of the fathers of the single market and the euro and has made a decisive contribution to the liberation of Central and Eastern Europe as well as driving forward the EU's eastward enlargement".

As patron of the Sudeten German ethnic group, Markus Söder, Minister President of the Free State of Bavaria, also took part in parts of the Sudeten German Day and gave a speech on Whitsun Sunday. In it, he described the event as a "festival of peace and family memories" and emphasised the influence of the Sudeten Germans on the development of Bavaria: "Without the expellees, Bavaria would never have been able to go this way," said the Minister President. In his speech, he also warned against an increase in the number of autocratic states and called for participation in the European elections.

Bernd Posselt also expressed his concerns about a resurgence of nationalism in Europe. Nationalists were in the process of "destroying everything precious that our older generation had built up after the Second World War". The Sudeten Germans would defend themselves against this with all their might. According to Posselt, one way to strengthen a democratic Europe is to take part in the upcoming European elections.

Read Olivia Schubert's acceptance speech below:

Ladies and gentlemen, honoured guests, dear Sudeten German friends,

It is a great honour for me to receive the Human Rights Award of the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft on behalf of the Federal Union of European Nationalities. On behalf of our more than 100 member organisations, I would like to express my deepest, heartfelt thanks for the award – and for considering us worthy enough.

Because being honoured with a human rights award means an immense responsibility and obligation.

We at FUEN are indeed committed to protecting and preserving human rights in times of peace as well as in times of war and conflict.

We say: Minority rights are human rights – and that is what we stand for.

We have stood for this for 75 years now, as our organisation is celebrating an anniversary this year. Allow me to make a comparison: 75 years of the FUEN and the 74th Sudeten German Day!

As you can see, both organisations began their work shortly after the end of the Second World War and were already committed to peace, international understanding and democracy at a very early stage. We would like to continue along this path, because the challenges will not become any less or easier with time.

In his welcoming address, Minister President Söder wrote: "Bavaria is the state in which Europe is taking shape!". I would like to say that the FUEN is the organisation that is helping to shape Europe in civil society, in the ranks of the autochthonous minorities.

FUEN's declared values are solidarity, equality, participation, diversity, human rights and traditions. We work together for reconciliation and international understanding and fight tirelessly against extremism, marginalisation and discrimination.

Like the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft, the Federal Union of European Nationalities sees itself as a bridge builder. As the main representative and largest umbrella organisation of Europe's autochthonous national minorities, nationalities and language communities, we currently unite more than 100 member organisations from 36 European countries, with new members joining every year.

The diversity of our member organisations is also reflected in our work, as our member organisations have very different linguistic, educational, cultural or legal backgrounds. It makes a difference whether their country is an EU member or not, whether their country recognises and applies the international mechanisms for the protection of minorities or not. Among our members there are those who come from countries with active and exemplary minority protection, but also those in which autochthonous minorities are not recognised at all.

FUEN tries to master its work in this broad balancing act.

We are 100 million Europeans, 50 million in the EU, who are members of autochthonous national minorities, regional and linguistic groups. One in seven Europeans belongs to an autochthonous national minority or speaks a regional or minority language. According to official EU figures, there are more than 60 regional or minority languages in the European Union in addition to the 24 official languages.

What we have in common is that we have decided to continue living in our home country. We want to preserve and develop our local identity, cultures and languages.

We are of the opinion that the situation of European minorities cannot be regarded solely as an internal matter for states. We are therefore in favour of strengthening the legal instruments and sanction mechanisms of the Council of Europe, while our aim in the EU is to create a legal framework for the protection of national minorities and linguistic communities.

To achieve these goals, FUEN maintains a large network of scientific institutes, cultural and educational institutions, youth organisations, media and other partners. FUEN is the voice of minorities in international organisations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and the OSCE.

Our greatest current achievement is the successful European citizens' initiative "Minority SafePack", which was launched in 2016. It received 1,123,422 valid signatures and crossed the national threshold in eleven Member States of the European Union. It gave our organisation a new kind of visibility and a consolidated position.

The aim of the MSPI is to raise minority policy to the European level. It includes a package of legal recommendations for the protection of national minorities, a series of legislative acts that will enable the EU to strengthen minority rights at European level and protect the identity, culture and language of minorities. The EU's motto is "United in diversity". With the MSPI, we want to encourage the EU to live and act according to this motto.

We say: Minorities make Europe richer!

In this spirit, we organise the largest meeting of autochthonous national minorities and language communities in a different country and at a different member organisation every year - the FUEN Congress with more than 200 participants. Here, the representatives of our member organisations can exchange ideas, gain an insight into the everyday life of the minorities living there and make fundamental decisions about the future work of the organisation.

In addition, our members are active in six Working Groups with annual meetings: the working groups for German, Slavic, Turkish and Hungarian minorities, the working group for minorities without a mother state and the working group for educational issues.

FUEN endeavours to set up long-term projects in special subject areas. For example, we run several projects, such as the "Minorities in the Western Balkans" project to raise awareness of the situation of minorities living there and provide them with assistance, or our "Minority Monitor", an online tool for documenting violations of minority rights.

I am personally very proud of the fact that we launched the "Women of Minorities" project almost two years ago. With this project, we want to draw attention to the complex challenges faced by women; to the fact that they are often a minority within a minority. Our aim is twofold: on the one hand, to publicise the motivation, commitment and successes of women in minority groups and, on the other, to provide help in cases of social or political exclusion and discrimination.

Every year we organise conferences, such as the Forum of European Minority Regions, with a specific focus topic, for example "Tourism and Minorities", "Economy and Minorities" or "Digitalisation and Minorities".

At the moment, we are also in full football mode, because between 28 June and 7 July we are hosting the European Football Championship of the autochthonous national minorities, called EUROPEADA, in the German-Danish border region. With more than 1,000 participants, this sporting event combines fair sporting competition with the goals of the autochthonous minorities. I cordially invite you to join us! Come and cheer on your favourite team!

In the context of the European Football Championship and in cooperation with UEFA, we are also launching our "Mute Hate Speech" campaign, which campaigns against hate speech, agitation and discrimination.

In the run-up to the European Parliament elections, FUEN adopted a manifesto on the EU elections in which it once again advocates a European strategy for the protection and promotion of national and linguistic minorities and calls on the EU to adopt a systematic approach to the preservation and protection of national and linguistic minorities within the framework of its rule of law mechanism. With our election test questions to the electoral parties of all EU countries, we call on the candidates to find solutions for our concerns at European level.

Dear Sudeten German friends!

I would like to thank you most sincerely for your long-standing, direct and unreserved support and promotion of the Sudeten Germans, which you have now confirmed by awarding this prize. This award means a lot to us and we are very proud of it!

Let us continue to work together in the future for human and minority rights, freedom, equality and democracy!

I would like to thank you and wish you many more memorable moments and wonderful encounters here at the Sudeten German Day! Thank you very much!

Photo: Torsten Fricke/Manfred Gischler