MINELRES: FCNM Secretariat: Conference to mark 5th anniversary of the entry into force of the Framework Convention, Strasbourg, 30-31 October 2003

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Nicola Markes-Goerlach <Nicola.MARKES-GOERLACH@coe.int>


Please find below the latest information concerning the Council of
Europe
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities which can
be
viewed on our website http://www.coe.int/minorities  under News

21/10/2003 Conference organised to mark the 5th anniversary of the entry
into force of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities, Strasbourg, 30-31 October 2003


21 October 2003
News(2003)024
 
SECRETARIAT OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL
MINORITIES
 
FILLING THE FRAME 

CONFERENCE ORGANISED TO MARK THE 5TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENTRY INTO FORCE
OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES,
STRASBOURG 
30-31 OCTOBER 2003 

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
entered into force in 1998. Seventeen States ratified it at the time. In
order to mark the 5th anniversary of its entry into force, the Council
of Europe is organising a conference in Strasbourg on 30 and 31 October
2003, which will bring together a large number of representatives of
governments, civil society, minorities as well as eminent experts in the
field of minorities. 

Today, 35 of the 45 member States of the Council of Europe have ratified
the Convention, giving a pan-European dimension to this treaty. The
implementation of this treaty in most of these 35 countries has been
assessed by the monitoring bodies (Advisory Committee (committee of
independent experts) and the Committee of Ministers). This assessment
led to a collection of texts, adopted in a country-by-country approach,
with a legal and political value. These texts are the fruit not only of
an analysis of the national laws and practice concerning minorities, but
also of a continuous dialogue with government and non-government actors
of the countries concerned. 

The Framework Convention, an international legal whose flexible
provisions were originally the subject of numerous comments and
questioning, has become, in fact, an instrument of objective evaluation
of policy with regard to national minorities. Both the work carried out
in the last five years, and its results will be at the heart of the
Conference. Beyond this first attempt of an appraisal, it will also be
important to consider these results with a critical eye in order that
improvements be made for the second cycle, which is to start in 2004. 

Important issues will be addressed during the Conference: 

- The right of minorities to education: which language of instruction
and at which levels? On the basis of which educational programmes, in
which establishments and with which resource materials? 

- The participation of minorities in public life: which consultation
measures and which structures should be used to associate persons
belonging to national minorities with decisions affecting them? Which
political representation for minorities? Where do they stand as regards
economic and social integration? 

- Access and presence of minorities in the media: which media coverage
should be given to problems concerning minorities and in particular how
should media contribute to the promotion of a culture of tolerance and
intercultural dialogue; which support should be given to programmes in
minority languages? 

These issues have been examined in depth in the work of the Advisory
Committee which will provide a starting point for a reflection which
aims to be collective and multidisciplinary. 

This Conference will also examine the present and future role of the
Framework Convention within the changing European context. 

It will undoubtedly lead to new paths of thought, and by involving all
actors concerned, should provide a renewed determination for the
protection of minorities, a subject which is at the heart of a genuine
and pluralist democracy.


CONFERENCE 

5th ANNIVERSARY OF THE ENTRY INTO FORCE OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR
THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES 

DRAFT AGENDA 

Palais de l'Europe, Strasbourg 

30-31 October 2003 

Organised by the Secretariat of the Framework Convention 
for the Protection of National Minorities, 
Directorate General of Human Rights 
Council of Europe 

Thursday 30 October 2003 

8:30-9:00 Registration of participants 

OPENING PLENARY (Room 1) 

9:00-9:30 OPENING OF THE CONFERENCE 

Chair: Pierre-Henri Imbert, Director General, Directorate General of
Human Rights, Council of Europe 

9:00-9:15 Walter Schwimmer, Secretary General of the Council of Europe 

9:15-9:30 Ambassador Pietro Ercole Ago, Permanent Representative of
Italy, Co-Chairman of the Ministers' Deputies' Rapporteur Group on Human
Rights 


9:30-9:50 THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION AT THE END OF THE FIRST CYCLE OF
MONITORING 

Presentation by Rainer Hofmann, President of the Advisory Committee on
the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities 

9:50-12:00 THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION AS A COMMON TOOL FOR THE PROTECTION
OF NATIONAL MINORITIES 

Chair: Helle Degn, Council of the Baltic Sea States Commissioner on
Democratic Development 

9:50-10:10 The role of the Framework Convention in promoting stability
and democratic security in Europe 
Rolf Ekeus, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities 

10:10-10:30 Coffee break 

10:30-10:50 The Framework Convention within the context of the Council
of Europe 
Boriss Cilevics, Member of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly 

10:50-11:00 Comments by Robert Dunbar, Senior Lecturer, University of
Glasgow (specific emphasis on the relations between the Framework
Convention and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages) 

11:00-11:15 Discussion 

11:15-11:35 Situating the Framework Convention in a wider context:
achievements and challenges 
John Packer, Visiting Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and
Diplomacy, Tuft University, Fellow, Carr Centre for Human Rights Policy,
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University 

11:35-12:00 Comments 
Asbjorn Eide, Chairman of the UN Working Group on Minorities, Member of
the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention 

12:00-13:00 THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL
MINORITIES AS A CATALYST FOR ACTION AT DOMESTIC LEVEL: THE NGO
PERSPECTIVE 

Chair: Helle Degn, Council of the Baltic Sea States Commissioner on
Democratic Development 

12:00-12:15 Presentation by Mark Lattimer, Director of Minority Rights
Group International 

12:15-12:30 Presentation by Dimitrina Petrova, Director of the European
Roma Rights Centre 

12:30-13:00 Discussion 

13:00-14:30 Lunch 

*** 

14:30-17:45 

THEMATIC WORKSHOPS ON THE RESULTS OF THE MONITORING OF THE FRAMEWORK
CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES 

WORKSHOP 1 

CREATING THE CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE EFFECTIVE PARTICIPATION OF
PERSONS BELONGING TO NATIONAL MINORITIES 

Chair: Jeno Kaltenbach, Parliamentary Commissioner for National and
Ethnic Minority Rights, Hungary 

Rapporteur: Marc Weller, Director of the European Centre for Minority
Issues, Flensburg 

14:30-15:00 Presentation of the report on the theme of the workshop by
the Rapporteur 

15:00-15:15 Sub theme 1 - Ensuring the participation of persons
belonging to national minorities in local governance 
Comments by Alexander Slafkovsky, member of the Congress of Local and
Regional Authorities of Europe, Council of Europe 

Discussion 

16:00-16:20 Coffee break 

16:20-16:35 Sub theme 2 - Social and economic participation of persons
belonging to national minorities 
Comments by Alan Phillips, Human Rights Advisor 

Followed by discussion 

17:20-17:45 General discussion 

18:00 Reception 

WORKSHOP 2 

PERSONS BELONGING TO NATIONAL MINORITIES AND THE MEDIA 

Chair: Marju Lauristin, Professor, University of Tartu 

Rapporteur: Karol Jakubowicz, Expert, National Broadcasting Council of
Poland; 
Vice-Chairman, Steering Committee on the Mass Media, Council of Europe 

14:30-15:00 Presentation of the report on the theme of the workshop by
the Rapporteur 

15:00-15:15 Sub theme 1 - Media Representation of Persons belonging to
National Minorities and the Promotion of a Spirit of Tolerance and
Intercultural Dialogue 
Comments by Milica Pesic, Director, Media Diversity Institute, London 

Discussion 

16:00-16:20 Coffee break 

16:20-16:35 Sub theme 2 - Access of Persons belonging to National
Minorities to the media 
Comments by Tarlach McGonagle, Researcher, Institute for Information
Law, University of Amsterdam 

Discussion 

17:20-17:45 General discussion 

18:00 Reception 

WORKSHOP 3 

EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS OF PERSONS BELONGING TO NATIONAL MINORITIES 

Chair: Sia Spiliopoulou Akermark, First Vice-President of the Advisory
Committee on the Framework Convention 

Rapporteur: Duncan Wilson, Associate Expert, International Bureau of
Education, UNESCO 

14:30-15:00 Presentation of the report on the theme of the workshop by
the Rapporteur 

15:00-15:15 Sub theme 1 - The challenges of adaptation: from segregation
to inclusive education 
Comments by Andrzej Mirga, Chairman of the Roma Advisory Council,
Project on Ethnic Relations; Chair of the Group of Specialists on Roma,
Gypsies and Travellers (MG-S-ROM), Council of Europe 

Discussion 

16:00-16:20 Coffee break 

16:20-16:35 Sub theme 2 - The status of minority languages in the
education process 
Comments by Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, University of Roskilde 

Followed by discussion 

17:20-17:45 General discussion 

18:00 Reception 

*** 

Friday 31 October 

CONCLUDING PLENARY (Room 1) 

Chair: Rainer Hofmann, President of the Advisory Committee on the
Framework Convention 

9:00-12:00 REPORTS FROM THE WORKSHOPS 

9:00-9:50 Workshop 1- Creating the conditions necessary for the
effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities 

Discussion 

9:50-10:40 Workshop 2- Persons belonging to national minorities and the
media 

Discussion 

10:40-11:10 Coffee break 

11:10-12:00 Workshop 3 - Educational rights of persons belonging to
national minorities 

Followed by discussion 

12:00-12:30 CONCLUSIONS OF THE CONFERENCE 

Chair: Hanno Hartig, Head of the Department for Media, Equality and
Minorities, Directorate General of Human Rights, Council of Europe 

Presentation of the conclusions of the Conference by the General
Rapporteur, Patrick Thornberry, Professor of International Law,
University of Keele


----------------
Nicola Markes-Goerlach
Council of Europe
Directorate General of Human Rights
Secretariat of the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities and of the DH-MIN
F-67075 Strasbourg-Cedex
nicola.markes-goerlach@coe.int
http://www.coe.int/T/E/human_rights/minorities/


Tel:   00 33 - (0)3 90 21 44 33
Fax:   00 33 - (0)3 90 21 49 18