OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities will open the annual FUEN Congress

The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors will give the opening speech at the FUEN Congress in Wrocław / Breslau, which will be from 18-22 May 2016.

“We are very glad that Astrid Thors is willing to share her experience and thoughts about minority protection in Europe”, says FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen.

“It is our common goal to create better conditions for the minorities in Europe.

We live in an era in which the anxiety and despair of the people in relation to the wars and conflicts are imminent and concrete. Millions of refugees seek protection and help in the safe countries of Europe. There is a danger that Europe may almost break down over this.

It is therefore even more important that organisations working within a European context show their human and humanist face. This applies to international organisations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and also for NGOs such as FUEN.

Organisations exist to serve people, not the other way around.

The OSCE also supports us, FUEN, because it works to decrease tensions and conflicts in those areas where minorities are living”, says Hans Heinrich Hansen. 

Since August 2013 Astrid Thors has held the office of OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM). She was a Member of the European Parliament (1996–2004) and served as Minister of Migration and European Affairs (2007–2011) in Finland.

Since the office of High Commissioner was established in 1992, the four incumbents have been involved in many situations in which there were inter-ethnic conflicts in different parts of Europe. They do not seek publicity so much, but try to prevent and de-escalate tensions, mostly by using silent diplomacy. This way the High Commissioner is able to set the course for the development of minority protection in Europe. The High Commissioners have developed authoritative recommendations and guidelines on e.g. education rights, linguistic rights, participation, media, policing, integration and inter-state relations.” 

In 2016, Germany holds the Chairmanship of the OSCE. Together with its Member Organisations, FUEN is engaged in several projects and programmes and cooperates with the office of the High Commissioner.

The annual congress of FUEN in Wrocław / Breslau will also, and in particular, deal with the latest developments in Europe, which constitute an increased risk for the minorities.

Many of the 90 member organisations of FUEN were and are affected by the latest conflicts in Europe, caused by the on-going economic crisis and major migration as a result of the war in Ukraine and the war in Syria that is overshadowing everything else. FUEN is furthermore concerned about the apparent tendency of renationalisation, disintegration and reinstatement of borders in Europe.

“The OSCE is not in the last place a natural partner for FUEN, because it deals with both security as well as with the important human values, namely with human rights”, says the President of FUEN, Hans Heinrich Hansen.

Within the framework of the German OSCE Chairmanship, FUEN has been requested to explore the role of the national minorities as bridge-builders between states and to define how this can facilitate finding international solutions in Europe.

More information:

Factsheet High Commissioner on National Minorities

HCNM Thematic Recommendations and Guidelines – 1996 until now

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities discusses how to strengthen the inter-ethnic institutional framework in Ukraine

Serbian Prime Minister inaugurates OSCE-supported multilingual university department in southern Serbia

The FUEN Contribution to the German OSCE Chairmanship 2016

FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen in Vienna: “The basic principles for successful minority policy are equality and genuine dialogue among equals”

Photos: 
Top: HCNM Astrid Thors with FUEN President Hans Heinrich Hansen and FUEN advisor Frank de Boer in Vienna, 2015; below: High Commissioner Astrid Thors.