Column

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Volume 30 - p. 3

A tale of two Instruments: Religious Minorities and The Council of europe’s Rights Regime

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Authors: S. E. Berry

Volume 30 - p. 10

Content: The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has increasingly deferred to States’ margin of appreciation when considering interferences with the right to manifest religion under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). In contrast..., the Advisory Committee (AC) on the Framework Convention on National Minorities (FCNM), despite originally being feared to be a highly politicised body, has allowed States very little room for manoeuvre when considering the implementation of Convention rights. In order to explore these seemingly contradictory positions, this article examines the approaches of the ECtHR and the AC towards two controversial manifestations of religion: the right to construct places of worship and the right to wear religious clothing. It argues that the ECtHR, by developing minimum standards that defer to the prejudices of the majority, is in danger of undermining the progress made by the AC towards establishing consistent minority rights standards throughout Europe.hide

From security to Justice? The Development of A More Justice-oriented Approach to the Realisation of european Minority Rights standards

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Authors: E. Craig

Volume 30 - p. 40

Content: The aim of this article is to reassess the development and consolidation of minority rights in Europe with reference to Kymlicka’s liberal theory of minority rights and to his own critique of the European minority rights framework. The article begi...ns by revisiting the development of new minority rights norms within the security-focused agenda of the early 1990s. It then considers the role of the first OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in promoting a more justice-oriented approach before considering the significance of the coming into force of the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the development of the work of its Advisory Committee. The article argues that there is evidence that a more justice-oriented approach to the realisation of European minority rights standards is emerging, particularly under the Framework Convention.hide

Power, Politics and Participation: The Russian Federation’s National Minorities and their Participatory Rights

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Authors: F. Prina

Volume 30 - p. 65

Content: Participatory rights are essential in the formulation of effective minority policies, but they are probably the most complex rights to delineate and regulate. Difficulties in implementing participatory rights exist in all countries: there are logis...tic difficulties in the establishment of effective mechanisms enabling the involvement of the whole spectrum of stakeholders in decision-making. This article reveals obstacles to Russia’s implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, with a focus on participatory rights (Article 15). It is argued that Russia does not meet the requirements of Article 15, owing to the fact that the form of participation offered to minorities is devoid of guarantees that it will be ‘effective’. An analysis of the two forms of participation – representation in elected bodies and consultative mechanisms, with a particular reference to National Cultural Autonomy – reveals an over-reliance on informal networks and practices in the management of majority-minority relations. Mechanisms for participation are locked into a system that has features partly originating from the Soviet period and partly from policies introduced by former Russian President Vladimir Putin. The article concludes that international standards on minority participation are unlikely to induce a substantial shift in minority policies in Russia given the international standards’ own flexibility and the Russian leadership’s commitment to its own approach to nationality issues in the context of its plans for a ‘managed democracy’. Despite this, it is argued that international standards should not be dismissed as irrelevant in Russia.hide