ADDRESS BY
H.E. ANTONIO MILOSHOSKI
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTRERS OF THE
COUNCIL OF EUROPE

AT THE

CONFERENCE ON THE INTEGRATION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES IN EUROPE

“STRENGTHENING THE COHESION OF EUROPEAN SOCIETIES: EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF PERSONS BELONGING TO NATIONAL MINORITIES IN DECISION- MAKING PROCESSES”

- opening session-

Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Distinguished Participants,

It is my great pleasure to address you at this Conference organized under the Macedonian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. I strongly believe that the topic of the Conference is very pertinent and timely. It follows up on the work done by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention on National Minorities on the Effective Participation of persons belonging to minorities in Cultural, Social and Economic life and Public Affairs, but also on the developments in other international forums. The second session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues held on 12 and 13 November 2009, in Geneva focused on the issue of minorities and effective political participation. Besides this Organization of global outreach, the OSCE, also active on the European continent as the Council of Europe, is intensely engaged on with the issue of integration of minorities through its activities under the mandate of the High Commissioner on National Minorities or at its Human Dimension Implementation Meetings.

Why are national minorities attracting so much attention? Why are they subject of interest of many international organizations? The answer lies not only in the history of Europe, but also in our present. Minorities have always existed in our societies often being the cause of tensions and in worst cases of serious conflicts. Today, as life is becoming more dynamic and due to migration there is greater presence of “others” in our societies. These diversities are of ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious nature. We have all understood, sometimes through painful experiences, that to secure the wellbeing of our citizens and prosperity of our societies we have to integrate these diversities in the mainstream. The integration of national minorities is a must with a view to achieving more cohesive societies, especially through their more effective participation in decision–making processes, since that is the real way of achieving de facto integration.

In this domain, the Council of Europe has comparative advantages. The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities is the first legally binding instrument with a monitoring mechanism to ensure the implementation of the Convention and compliance with its provisions. The Framework Convention, being a concrete product of the renaissance of the international efforts to safeguard the rights of the persons belonging to national minorities, is ratified by 39 member states of the Council of Europe. That is an impressive number, but we should not stop here. I join the call of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to the remaining member states to sign and ratify the Framework Convention, contributing thus to its broader implementation within the Organization.

The Advisory Committee which has been set up as a specialized monitoring body of the Convention has accumulated vast expertise over the 12 years of its work. We are particularly honored to have Mr. Alan Phillips, President of the Advisory Committee, Ms. Ilze Brands-Kehris, the 1st Vice-President, as well as other members of the Advisory Committee among the keynote speakers at this Conference. Their experiences in monitoring the implementation of the Framework Convention are particularly relevant since they collect first hand information from the ground through country visits and through dialogue with the national and local interlocutors. Cooperation and information sharing with other international organizations and non-governmental organization present in the countries under monitoring of the Advisory Committee is particularly valuable. I believe we will have the opportunity to hear more about this in the discussions at the Second Workshop dedicated to the sub-topic of synergies and comparative advantages of the Council of Europe and other international organizations and their actions in contributing towards more effective participation of minorities in decision-making processes.

Establishing good cooperation and avoiding overlapping between the international organizations in this particular field is important for the international organizations themselves to better advance the integration of minorities and their effective participation in decision-making, each of them contributing to this end within their own mandate. At the same time, this is even more significant for the countries beneficiaries of the assistance by international organizations. It is a question of wise use of human potentials and financial resources with the aim of being more efficient in enhancing the level of protection for minorities and their integration. In this context, I believe that partnership and dialogue are the operative words.

We should also be aware that within the Council of Europe there are different monitoring mechanisms which work complementary to the Advisory Committee. In our priorities for the Committee of Ministers Chairmanship we have stressed the need for a cooperative approach in safeguarding various human rights and in bringing together relevant monitoring bodies of the Council of Europe to enhance and consolidate the human rights system, both nationally and at the level of the Organization. In providing suitable legislative and administrative solutions for effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in the decision-making process we should also rely on the advices and Opinions of the Venice Commission, on the observations and recommendations of the ECRI and we can draw certain conclusions from the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

An idea relevant to our today’s topic of discussion is contained in many documents of the Council of Europe. Namely, societies that are pluralistic must allow and ensure that identities of their minorities are preserved and are able to flourish. These identities are source of enrichment of our societies. In the name of this we have to try harder, because there are no easy answers when it comes to the integration of persons belonging to national minorities, and their effective participation in the decision making process. The most important is to get to know one another, understanding one another’s needs better and than move on to solving the problems. Dialogue is a crucial instrument in this respect.

When speaking about the Macedonian experience, I have to say that significant improvements have been made in the last decade for which the Macedonian Governments have received credit from independent and competent observers. We have increased the participation of persons belonging to non-majority communities in the work and the decision-making of the Macedonian Assembly, the Committee on Inter-Community relations, the National Security Council, the Constitutional Court and the units of local-self government. All the relevant decision-making bodies have as their members persons belonging to national minorities. The Strategy for equitable representation of persons belonging to non-majority communities has brought increased participation of non-majority communities in the public administration and public enterprises and in the judiciary, while the Judicial Council and the Council of Public Prosecutors are illustrative examples in this regard. The Law on the promotion and protection of rights of smaller communities has been adopted and a relevant Agency established.

Of course, my intention is not to paint a rosy picture, since the integration of national minorities and their effective participation in the decision-making process is work in progress, not only here, but in all the member states of the Council of Europe.

Distinguished Participants,

Article 15 of the Framework Convention stipulates that ”States shall create the conditions necessary to effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in cultural, social, economic and in public affairs”.

Effective participation includes wide range of possible forms, such as representation and participation in elected bodies, public administration, judiciary and law-enforcement agencies, the right of every person belonging to national minorities to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom to form political parties and associations. 
Concluding my introduction let me express my hope that we will have interesting and inspiring discussions at the Conference.

Let me thank the Secretariat of the Framework Convention for their assistance in organizing this Conference. Your support is greatly valuable.

Thanking you for your attention, I am particularly pleased to give the floor to Ms. Michèle Akip, Head of the Secretariat of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, who is the most relevant speaker on behalf of the Council of Europe on this topic.

Ms. Akip, you have the floor.