Ethnicity and Politics: Definition and Scope
East Central Europe, 28:(2) pp. 41-68. (2001)
15 Pages Posted: 31 Dec 2013
Abstract
The year 2000 opened a new phase in European anti-discrimination policies. In line with earlier efforts of the European Union when launching the ‘European Year against Racism’ in 1997, dozens of conferences, action plans and programs were set in motion. As for the most recent developments, two important Euro-level legal acts have to be underlined. First, the new Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms on behalf of the Council of Europe opened the scope of anti-discrimination clauses to include, according to Art. 1.1, ‘any right set forth by law’. Secondly, the Council Directive Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment between Persons Irrespective of Racial or Ethnic Origin on behalf of the EU (issued in June 2000) broadened the application of anti-racist rulings beyond the traditional state-based public sphere, (incorporating also certain private fields). These two acts unquestionably belong to the minority-protection framework, and work toward its enlargement. The implications of these policies and black-letter solutions or constitutional strategies], however, are more far-reaching than the new anti-discrimination measures; they touch upon more fundamental jurisprudential issues and policy-determinations regarding the general scheme of protection of minority rights. Upon the coming into force of the new EU Directive and the preparations for the Community Action Programme to Combat Discrimination (2001-2006), the author feels that it is appropriate to share some of his doubts and puzzlement regarding recent (European) constitutional developments in the field of ethnic-national minority protection. In particular, the author comments on two interrelated issues: the problems arising from the legal ambiguity of the definition of the core ‘minority’, and the discrepancies accompanying additional rights provided for minorities in terms of political rights and the constitutional framework.
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