New kinds of laws are needed for the protection of minorities

We need to have continuous dialogue and negotiations in order to apply minority rights – stated Bernhard Ziesch in the opening speech of the discussion entitled From Wroclaw to Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvár, Klausenburg organised during the FUEN Congress. The discussion addressed the situation of autochthonous national minorities in Europe. The FUEN vice president and moderator of the discussion brought an example of good practice from the Sorbian community in Germany: "Conflict management is very transparent in Germany. If there is any, we sit down and talk about it. It’s just easier that way.” – said Bernhard Ziesch.

Prof. Petra Roter, President of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities spoke about diversity management in her lecture. She spoke about the challenges European minorities currently face. She stated: it is worrisome that governmental organisations do not observe human rights, saying they serve the majority community by doing so. "The fact that national minorities are treated as strangers to the state is a problem. Their basic rights are not guaranteed, such as their right to education, culture, the use of mother tongue or political representation. Nationalism and the construction of nation states are a threat to our society” – explained Petra Roter to those who see minorities as a threat.

"Corruption undermines the democratic institutional system, while minorities are often used for political interests. These challenges need to be adressed, and we must also encourage the broadening of linguistic rights to minority and regional languages. New kinds of laws are needed for the protection of minorities which facilitate integration” – concluded Petra Roter.

Laczikó Enikő, under-secretary of state in the Department for Interethnic Relations, the specialized institution of the Romanian Government for national minorities’ rights stated in her speech: "Our mission is to promote the legal rights of individuals belonging to national minorities and intercultural dialogue, as well as to contribute to the establishment of an efficient legal framework and of a management of ethnic and cultural diversity, developing common values and strengthening cohesion within society.” She then added: "During the past 27 years, the Romanian state developed a complex system of protection for national minorities as a result of the hard work, the effective, constant and responsible participation of minorities. Many of the rights achieved were due to the governmental participation of the Hungarian organization, the RMDSZ. The lack of a definition and official recognition of the national minorities however hinder the work of both the RMDSZ and the minority representation organization, and the work of the Department I represent. The Department, with the substantial contribution of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians of Romania elaborated a draft law regarding the status of national minorities, aiming to set up a proper legal framework regarding the organization and the functioning of the institutional system of national minorities. The draft law provides a definition of national minorities, it statutes the principle of non-discrimination, of free affiliation to a minority group. The government submitted the draft law to the parliament in 2005 only to be rejected by the Senate. The Chamber of Deputies has yet to address the proposal. As a conclusion, I would stress out that I believe that our best interest both as Romanian authorities and as citizens belonging to national minorities and majority as well is to remain consequent to the principles that rule human rights in general and minority rights, in particular. I reconfirm the need to develop and to perfect the system of protection of national minorities constantly, based only on democratic tools and constructive dialogue.”

Winkler Gyula, Member of the European Parliament reminded participants of the FUEN Congress about the importance of solidarity: “I would like to talk to you about the most important value that any community needs to cherish. This value is solidarity. Whether we are talking about nations, national communities, peoples of the Member States of the European Union, but also about the European Union itself, solidarity is the key to success in any endeavour that a community initiates. What is more, solidarity is the fundamental value, without which we, the communities of national minorities, cannot be successful in our efforts.” – stated the MEP.

During the discussion entitled From Wroclaw to Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvár, Klausenburg members of the minority communities in Europe and in Romania talked about the issues they are facing. Greta Linda spoke on behalf of the Roma community that lives near the host city, saying: the local administration removed them from the city centre in 2010 and relocated them in the periphery of Cluj, where they don’t even have access to the most basic things. Their message to FUEN is to use every opportunity they have to try to influence the local administration in order to ensure a better life for the Roma of Patarât.

On behalf of the team in charge of the Patarât project meant to improve the lives of the Roma people who live there Tonk Gabriella said: this is a project sponsored by the Norway Grants, in which we managed to include housing issues. In order to integrate the Roma community, we included them in the processes of the project. We elaborated a methodology that could be valid for other communities as well. „Racism and prejudice mark our society, and we need to join forces in the fight against them.” – she said.

Member of the European Parliament, Sógor Csaba concluded the discussion saying: the challenge of the next period of time will be to ensure the cooperation between strong national minorities, strong nations and a strong Europe. This is only possible if we stop using double standards for minority policies – he pointed out. „It is crucial for national minorities in Europe that the criteria already elaborated and adopted, such as the Copenhagen Criteria, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages are also allied.” – stated the RMDSZ politician. Sógor Csaba talked about the Minority SafePack Initiative saying: this is an initiative that regards all citizens of Europe, not just the ones who belong to a national minority community. Thus, we need to address the majorities during our petition campaign. „This is an issue benefiting every European citizen” – concluded the MEP.    

The Federal Union of European Nationalities is the largest umbrella organization representing 100 million European citizens belonging to a national minority. The 62nd Congress of the FUEN is taking place on the 17-21 of May at Grand Hotel Napoca in Cluj-Napoca, Kolozsvár, Klausenburg. Representatives of 50 member organisation, over 300 delegates and guests are attending the event covered by over 50 journalists. The Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania, the RMDSZ is the host of the event.