Studies in International Minority and Group Rights – serie

While allegations of double standards are mostly voiced in relation to the EU, this book takes a multidimensional approach to the use of differential standards concerning minorities and minority protection. Not only do academics from different disciplines contribute to the volume but the multidimensionality also resides in the fact that several international organisations active in the field of minority protection are included in the analysis. Furthermore differential standards are also discussed in relation to the (ongoing debate about the status and rights of) ‘new’ minorities. Finally, the challenge of protecting minorities and other vulnerable groups within minorities is addressed. In the process the book revisits the fundamental tenets of minority protection as well as the basic rational of the international organisations concerned.

Is the use of mechanisms that only focus on the protection of individual human rights sufficient to protect the cultural identity of minorities? Much more can be achieved by adopting a system that applies the principles of equality and non-discrimination, and encompasses the recognition of a collective right to cultural identity. Culture and cultural identity are indeed important for the identification of groups and ethnicity. But are the Roma an ethnic group? Are they a minority? In answering these questions, Italy is used as a case study to illustrate the limits of non-discrimination provisions and the need to recognise the collective right to cultural identity.

Despite decades of nation-building exercise, ethnic-based claims for substantive equality, justice and equitable political inclusion and socio-economic order continue to result in communal rivalries. These are claims that define and represent the issue of minorities in Africa, of which these conflicts are manifestations. Although ethnic conflicts in Africa have been a subject of a large number of studies, the potential and role of norms on minority rights to address claims that ethno-cultural groups raise has not received the attention it deserves. Based on materials from normative political theory and international human rights law and using an empirical and prescriptive analysis, this book defends a robust system of minority rights built around culture, equality and self-determination. This is employed to elaborate an adequate constitutional design providing policy frameworks (multilingual language policy, recognition and affirmation of cultural diversity,), structures (that ensure just representation and participation of members of all groups) and norms (that guarantee substantive equality and the rights to language, religion and culture). The study then proffers two cases studies (South Africa and Ethiopia) to ascertain how such constitutional design might be translated into actual policy frameworks, institutions and norms.

This book is devoted to complex questions of building and developing legal education in more than one language, through two state languages (French and Dutch in Belgium, German and French in Switzerland, English and French in Canada, Finnish and Swedish in Finland) and/or through the medium of minority or lesser used languages (Basque, Galician, Catalan, Welsh, Romanian). Some states have a long and well-established tradition of bilingual legal education; others have only recently started to develop a legal education system through non-dominant languages; finally, in some other cases only partial bilingual legal education obtains, rather than a fuller model. The volume purports to examine best practices and to draw useful lessons from the experiences of other bilingual societies.

This edited volume sets out to unravel various dimensions of a particular topical question pertaining to minorities and minority protection, which has not been explored yet, more particularly the socio-economic participation of minorities in relation to their right to (respect for) identity. This interrelation and interaction is studied from a multi-disciplinary perspective, spanning a broad range of disciplines, while drawing on a rich variety of case studies covering various corners of the world. This interrelation manifests itself in distinctive ways for religious minorities, ethnic minorities, and indigenous peoples. As it is impossible to provide a comprehensive coverage, this volume aims to offer a range of articles that reveal the breadth of the theme under review, while combining theoretical analysis with fascinating case studies.

Created in order to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (1992-2012), this publication aims to offer readers a comprehensive review, written by a variety of scholars in the field, of the value and impact of the standards formulated in the Declaration. In so doing, it hopes to stimulate attention for and debate around the Declaration and its principles. The regional perspectives and case studies included further enable the identification of positive initiatives and good practices as well as persistent gaps in the implementation of the standards enshrined in the Declaration.

In National Identities and the Right to Self-Determination of Peoples, Hilly Moodrick-Even Khen revisits the legal right to self-determination of peoples and suggests an integrative model for securing the cohesion of the various nationalities within multinational states. The model, set on both legal and political science theories, departs from civic nationalism but calls to strengthen it with more immediate and emotional means, such as shared national symbols and multicultural education. Moodrick-Even Khen explores the political history of Canada, Belgium, and Spain and touches upon other divided societies such as South Africa, Northern Ireland and Cyprus. Drawing upon these cases, she suggests a future model for a cohesive society in Israel, which is currently nationally divided between Arabs and Jews.

In A Dialogical Concept of Minority Rights, Hanna H. Wei demonstrates that a more plausible and realistic concept of minority rights should consist of not only rights against the state but also rights against the group. She formulates and defends three separate but related rights to dialogue, and thoroughly analyses how they may operate not only to maintain a healthy balance between the minorities’ need to be culturally distinct and their need to relate to and belong in the larger society, but also that they address the generalisations and presuppositions on which the debate of multiculturalism has been based, and constitute the first step of a possible solution to many of the theoretical and practical difficulties of minority protection.

The People’s Republic of Bangladesh is centrally located in South Asia and is one of the eight countries that constitute the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC). In 2010, the South Asian Institute of Legal and Human Rights Studies in Dhaka (SAILS) initiated the ‘Combating Gender Injustice’ research study to investigate how the Christian, Hindu and Muslim communities in the country are affected by the laws and customs governing their personal lives. The aim was to engage in a dialogue with the stakeholders the results of which would provide a basis to formulate recommendations for law, policy and procedural reform. These reports have been reproduced in this volume in updated and revised form. Moreover, in order to offer a more complete overview of the ethnic and religious minorities concerned, a chapter has been added on the personal laws of the Buddhist community, the third largest religious community in Bangladesh. Finally, the volume offers much needed information on the laws and customs of the indigenous peoples of the Chittagong Hill Tracts, communities following traditional rules and customs in the remote and hilly region of the country. The gender-insensitive personal laws prevalent in South Asian societies will continue to be debated for generations to come. This unique volume gives a voice to the different religious and ethnic communities affected by the current laws and practices in force in Bangladesh. The reader will find an overview and gain understanding of the legal issues that need to be addressed in each case.

In this book Siu Lang Carrillo Yap compares the land and forest rights of Amazonian indigenous peoples from Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador and Peru, and analyses these rights in the context of international law, property law theory, and forest and soil sciences. Within this scope and against the historical background, the recent interrelations between the Amazonian indigenous peoples’ land, forest and community forest management rights and their importance for the self-determination of indigenous peoples in the Amazonian region are examined.Through bringing together international law with national law, natural resources law with property law and law with natural sciences, the author sheds new light on the complex topic of indigenous peoples’ rights closely entwined with the conservation of the Amazonian rainforest.

What is the status of indigenous religious rights in the world today? Despite important legal advances in the protection of indigenous religious beliefs and practices at the international and national levels, there are still many obstacles to the full implementation of these provisions. Using a unique large-scale comparative approach, this book aims to identify the fundamental issues that characterize the law of indigenous religions in several countries, as well as certain avenues that may prove useful in state implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples regarding practice, promotion, transmission, protection, and access to spiritual heritage.

Published on occasion of the 100 year anniversary of the Åland Islands’ autonomy, this book brings up and discusses a number of challenging issues, from constitutional and international law perspectives, concerning both the Åland situation and autonomy in general. Among the questions raised are: Is autonomy part of international law and which international organisations may have jurisdiction?Is autonomy a human right or is it about the prevention of violent conflicts?Does the Åland Autonomy constitute a useful model for other minority groups?Do the Åland Islands stand to benefit from anything in international law, be it substantive or procedural?