RULE OF MAJORITY– RIGHT OF MINORITY

Almost the absolute majority of world states is characterized by complex religious, linguistic and ethnic minorities. Historically, minorities (religious, linguistic, ethnic, etc.) have been known since ancient times and the Middle Ages. A prominent place in these structures is held by ethnic minorities. However, their existence has become a global scale problem in the past century. In the world nowadays there are more than 180 states, and only less than 20 of them are ethnically homogeneous – that is, in these states ethnic minorities make up less than 5% of population. In more than 40% states of the world live five or more minorities. Since ethnic minority is the most prominent concept, the stating point of discussion will be the definition of the term minority on global level and perceptions of it in Europe, Africa and South Asia as there are many multiethnic states facing the 'problem' of minorities.

The United Nations use the term „minority“ in reference to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities as defined by the United Nations Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (General Assembly resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992) and in Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (OHCHR 2013).

A 'definition' of minority was developed in 1979 by Francesco Capotorti, former Special Rapporteur of the United Nations (Khan and Rahman 2009, 2). According to him, a minority is both numerically inferior group and in a non-dominant position in relation to the rest of the population. Furthermore, the ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics of its members differ from those of the majority. Also, a sense of solidarity is maintained, the purpose of which is to preserve their culture, traditions, religion or language, even if only implicitly (OHCHR 2010, 2). Capotorti's definition is linked to Article 27 of the ICCPR, which is the most prominent provision in international law concerning minorities. The rights provided under Article 27 benefit persons belonging to „ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities“ (Khan and Rahman 2009, 2).

Another definition was drafted by Jules Deschenes and submitted to the Commission on Human Rights in 1985.  However, it was not accepted by the Commission. This definition defines a minority as:

 „A group of citizens of a state, consisting of a numerical minority and in a non-dominant position in that state, endowed with ethnic, religious, or linguistic characteristics which differ from those of the majority of the population, having a sense of solidarity with one another, motivated, if not implicitly, by a collective will to survive and whose aim is to achieve equality with the majority in fact and in law“ (Meijknecht 2001, 71).

Both Capotorti's and Deschene's definition of minorities maintain that minorities are citizens of the state they live in. Therefore, persons who might be argued to be minorities, such as refugees, foreigners and migrant workers, are excluded from it.

Different perceptions of minorities

It is widely acknowledged that a membership in a minority groups is based on an individual's own decision, rather than an issue to be determined by the state. However, not all who consider themselves to be members of a minority are automatically recognized to be such by the state (Wolff 2008, 1). In Europe for instance no minority is recognized in France; therefore the Basques, Bretons, Corsicans, Roma, etc. are unrecognized. Turkey holds that no Muslims can have an ethnic identity other than Turkish; thus Muslim Kurds and Roma are unrecognized, while non-Muslims are recognized only as religious minorities. In Czech Republic, the authorities acknowledge the „Moravian and Silesian national identities“, which were registered in the census of 1991, but they are not recognized as national minorities protected by the respective legislation. In Sweden, speakers of dialects in Scania and Gotland favor recognition as national minorities, but the government has refused this  (Penayote 2004, 4–7). The absence of a legal definition of minority that is generally accepted and recognized under international law is a critical issue here.

The majority of African states is of the opinion that minorities are just a European problem and are not willing to admit that question of minorities affects Africa as well. At the same time, many indigenous minorities, ethnic groups, communities, peoples and ethnic minorities who are living in Africa suffer from a lack of attention of these states (Slimane 2003, 1). Prove that some African states are very diverse in terms of ethnicity, religion and language is, that some African states are consisted of more than 250 different ethnic groups, as in the case of Nigeria and Cameroon, and which are often treated as a disadvantaged category despite the constitutional provisions which are made to protect core interests of group rights (Osaghae 1998, 24). It is repeatedly claimed by African states that the root cause of conflicts in the region is ethnicity, which is often exploited, politicized and manipulated. However, stability and lasting peace will remain an elusive goal  unless minority rights are integrated into the political, social, cultural and development agenda. The aim should be to ensure the preservation of distinctive features of a group and the balancing of different ethnic groups (Slimane 2003).

South Asia is a place of some of the most spectacular and high-profile disputes involving minorities in the modern world. The extent of minority problems in this area is great, although a lot of effort has gone into the creation of appropriate structures to achieve social harmony. Retreat of colonialism in South Asia left the major problems dealing with minorities. Pakistan remained a volatile place for religious and ethnic minorities during 2011. Harassment and violence have increased in Indonesia in 2011 as well – organizations monitoring on rights of minorities reported 244 violations of rights of minorities (Naumann 2012).

Conclusion

While it was not possible to find an agreed definition of what an ethnic group is ethnic groups are characterized by several features which are the subject of academic treatments – proper collective name, shared myths of origin and cultural characteristics (language, religion, traditions and customs), which distinguish one from the others. Minorities and majorities alike exhibit different combinations of these features. An ethnic group is a minority when its numerical and political position in the state in which they are citizens is non-dominant (Wolff 2008, 1). Unfortunately, tensions and sometimes violence are the result of the failure of mulch-ethnic and multicultural states to recognize marginalized ethnic groups. Peaceful coexistence and constructive nation building will remain a distant hope unless minorities and their rights are acknowledged and recognized.

Aleksandra Đurđević

References:

Khan and Rahman. 2009. Protection of Minorities: A South Asian Discourse. Available at: http://www.eurac.edu/en/research/institutes/imr/Documents/EURASIA-Net_Del_17_South_Asian_Discourse.pdf (21st March 2013).

Meijknecht, Anna. 2001. Personality: The Prosition of Minorities and Indigenous peoples in International Law. Available at: http://books.google.si/books?id=b3NnYzUWxtoC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=Jules+Deschenes,+“Proposal+concerning+a+definition+of+the+term+minority”&source=bl&ots=zkUWAmiUGw&sig=3sinsljriHG7lXeWlG3_yr64mg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tpVKUcbhNo_DswbW6IHgBg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Jules%20Deschenes%2C%20“Proposal%20concerning%20a%20definition%20of%20the%20term%20minority”&f=false (21st March 2013).

Naumann, Matthew. 2012. State of the World's Minorities and Indegenous Peoples: Asia and ocenaia. London: Minority Rights Group International. Available at: http://www.minorityrights.org (21st  March 2013).

OHCHR. 2010. Minority Rights: International Standards and Guidance for implemetation. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/MinorityRights_en.pdf (21st March 2013).

OHCHR. 2013. Minorities under international law: Who are minorities under international law?. Available at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/Pages/internationallaw.aspx (21st  March 2013).

Osaghae, E. Eghosa. 1998. Managing multiple minority problems in a divided society: The Nigerian experience. The Journal of Modern African studies 36 (1): 1–24. Available at: http://intractableconflict.org/vky/!hb-readings/multiple-minorities.pdf (21st March 2013).

Penayote, Elias Dimitras. 2004. Recognition of Minorities in Europe: Protecting Rights and Dignity. London: Minority Rights Group International. Available at: http://www.minorityrights.org (21st March 2013).

Slimane, Samia. 2003. Recognizing Minorities in Africa. London: Minority Rights Group International. Available at: http://www.minorityrights.org (21st March 2013).

Smith, K. M. Rhona. 2009. The fate of Minorities – Sixty years on. Available at: http://webjcli.ncl.ac.uk/2009/issue1/smith1a.html (21st March 2013).

Wolff, Stefan. 2008. Etnic Minorities in Europe: The Basic facts. Flensburg: European Centre for Minority Issues. Available at: http://www.stefanwolff.com/publications/ethnic-minorities-in-europe (21st March 2013).