1. technical issue or question how to become inclusive toward others?
Minority governance –
technical issue or question how to become inclusive toward others?
PhDr. Michal Vašečka, PhD.
Masaryk University, Brno (

2. Minority rights and protection
Dilemma of national minority protection – recognize differences or to be blind?

3. Minority rights
Minority rights, as applying to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities and indigenous peoples, are an integral part of international human rights law.
Like many other rights (children´s rights, women´s rights), minority rights are a legal framework designed to ensure that a specific group which is in a vulnerable, disadvantaged or marginalized position in a society, is able to achieve equality and is protected from persecution.

4. Why do we care about minorities – historical insight
The protection of religious and minority rights had been a matter of international concern and the subject of protections ever since the days of the Peace of Westphalia.
The concept of granting title to a territory on the basis of minority rights treaties started in the 1870s with Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania.
At the Versailles Peace Conference the Supreme Council established 'The Committee on New States and for The Protection of Minorities'. All the new successor states were compelled to sign minority rights treaties as a precondition of diplomatic recognition.

5. Minority rights - international relations issue
The issue of minority rights was first raised in 1814, at the Congress of Vienna, which discussed the fate of German Jews and especially of the Poles who were once again partitioned up. The Congress expressed hope that Prussia, Russia, and Austria would grant tolerance and protection to their minorities, which ultimately they disregarded, engaging in organized discrimination.
The Congress of Paris in 1856 paid special attention to the status of Jews and Christians in the Ottoman Empire. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 dealt with the status of Jews in Romania, especially, and also Serbia, and Bulgaria. On the whole these 19th century congresses failed to impose significant reforms. Russia was especially active in protecting Orthodox Christians, and Slavic peoples under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Persecution or discrimination against specific minorities was increasingly the subject of media attention, and the Jews began to organize to protest the pogroms in Russia.
There was, however, little international outrage regarding other minorities, such as the blacks in the southern United States. No one paid much attention to the attacks on Armenians until it became large-scale genocide in 1915, and even then nothing was done.

6. Post-war protection of minority rights
The first post-war international treaty to protect minorities, designed to protect them from the greatest threat to their existence, was the U.N.  Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Subsequent human rights standards that codify minority rights include the  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 27), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, two Council of Europe treaties (the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Copenhagen Document of 1990.
Minority rights cover protection of existence, protection from discrimination and persecution, protection and promotion of identity, and participation in political life.
To protect minority rights, many countries have specific laws and/or commissions or ombudsman institutions (Parliamentary Commissioner for National and Ethnic Minorities Rights, etc.).

7. Laws on national minorities - Slovakia
Constitutional Rights of minorities
The rights of national minorities are being secured by different laws, the most important are:
Ústavný zákon č.23/ 1991 Zb.;
Zákon č. 83/ 1990 Zb. o združovaní občanov;
Zákon č. 84/ 1990 Zb. o zhromažďovacom práve;
Zákon č. 85/ 1990 Zb. o petičnom práve;
Zákon č. 256/ 1992 Zb. o ochrane osobných údajov;
Zákon NR SR č. 300/ 1993 Z.z. o mene a priezvisku;
Zákon NR SR č. 154/ 1994 Z.z. o matrikách;
Zákon NR SR č. 191/ 1994 Z.z. o označovaní obcí v jazyku národnostných menšín;
Zákon č. 184/ 1999 Z.z. o používaní jazykov národnostných menšín;
Zákon č. 29/ 1994 Zb. o sústave základných a stredných škôl;
Nariadenie vlády SR č. 282/ 1994 Z.z. o používaní učebníc a učebných textov;
Zákon o č. 469/ 1991 o prevádzkovaní rozhlasového a televízneho vysielania;
Zákon č.335/ 1998 Zb. o Slovenskej televízii (doplnenie zákona č. 254/ 1991 Zb.);
Zákon č. 225/ 1991 Zb. o Slovenskom rozhlase;
Zákon č. 384 /1997 Zb. o divadelnej činnosti;
Zákon NR SR č. 115/ 1998 o múzeách a galériách;
Občiansky súdny poriadok zákon č. 99/ 1963 Zb.;
Zákon č. 161/ 1996 – Branný zákon;
Zákon č. 335/ 1991 Zb. o súdoch a sudcoch;
Občiansky zákonník zákon č. 40/ 1964 Zb.;
Trestný poriadok zákon č. 141/ 1961 Zb.;
Zákonník práce zákon č. 65/ 1965 Zb.;
Zákon NR SR č. 38/ 1993 Z.z. o organizácii Ústavného súdu SR, o konaní pred ním a postavení sudcov.

8. State Institutions - Slovakia
Deputy Prime Minister for Human Rights, Minorities and Regional Development, which coordinated all issues related to national minorities and human rights.
Section of Human Rights and Minorities
Government Council for National Minorities and Ethnic Groups
The Slovak parliament’s Committee for Human Rights and Nationalities
Office of the Governmental Plenipotentiary for Roma Communities
Other bodies that administer the field of national minorities and ethnic groups include the Culture Ministry (Section of Minority Cultures), the Education Ministry (Department of National Schools, State Pedagogical Institute, methodical centers), the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family (Department of Family Policy, Health Care Section), the National Labor Bureau, the Ministry of Construction and Regional Development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Department of Human Rights), the Ministry of Health (State Health Institute) and regional and district authorities.

9. Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
The broad aims of the convention are to ensure that the signatory states respect the rights of national minorities, undertaking to combat discrimination, promote equality, preserve and develop the culture and identity of national minorities, guarantee certain freedoms in relation to access to the media, minority languages and education and encourage the participation of national minorities in public life.
Criticism:
1. Not all member states of the Council of Europe have signed and ratified it. France and Turkey have done neither. Iceland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Greece have signed and have yet to ratify.
2. The provisions offer little new on already existing international treaties.
3. The provisions are hedged around with many phrases including 'as far as possible'. 
4. The convention does not define "national minority" and several countries set their own definition of the term when they ratified the treaty.

10. Minority rights and minority policies
Variety of approaches within the EU, many differences between EU15 and EU27
Quality of policies toward minorities:
Relevant
Efficient
Effective
Sustainable
Viable

11. Why should we care about minority rights?
To secure social cohesion of modern societies
To fight social exclusion
To build societies based on principles of citizenship and to enhance sovereignty of citizens
To prevent new forms of discrimination
To offer and secure human dignity to all segments of society

12. How should we care about minority rights?
Policies consider each group to be equal and all dimensions of belonging.
Differences of existing groups should be rooted inside of societal structures.
Minority policies should insist on relativism: no life style can be considered as a superior over other life styles. It is important to understand it in relations, but it cannot go beyond a legal system and societal acceptance.
Diversity should not be only passively perceived fact, it should be supported and included into the life of a society.

13. Legal system of protection of national minorities
Minority status versus recognition of collective minority rights
Migrant and autochtonous minorities in the EU and their rights
Future of minority policies

14. Central European countries after 1989
Unparallel transformation in all of its dimensions (economic, political, societal, moral)
But very few changes occurred in a sphere of de-ethnization of public policies. Discrepancy between multi-identities post-modern era and 19th century type of nation state in CEE countries rises.
In spite of adopting all possible legal norms on protection of minorities, equal status of minorities has not been secured so far.

15. National minority and nation
Difficulties to define what we mean by a nation (CoE)
Traditions and borders of integration in Europe:
- CEE follow former German exclusivist model
- Germany: Differentiated incorporation
- France: Civic - political integration aiming at assimilation
- Britain: Hierarchical group pluralism

16. Territorization of national identity in CEE
19. century – nationalistic era – necessity to chose out of identities
After 1918 – process of „fortification“ inside of borders of nation states in CEE
After 1945 – finalizing of the homogenous states building in CEE
After 1989 – unification of the „nation“ over borders of the nation state (taking care of so-called ex-patriots)
Clash with modern understanding of citizenship

17. Nationalized Citizenship in CEE Countries
Modern national states create a „cocktail“ of civic and ethnic traditions
CEE countries are rather ethnically defined with many differences in constitutional codifications of a nation.
Civic and ethnic dimensions of the modern citizenship still clash with each other:
Egalitarian, Democratic, Socially consequential 
Sacred, National, Unique

18. Citizenship in CEE
Citizenship in CEE is a mixture of ius soli and ius sanguini principles, but understood rather in ethnic terms:
1. Constitutional codification
2. Modes of acquisition of citizenship
3. Ex-patriots policies
Lack of thinking in terms of de-etnicized citizenship or post-national citizenship.

19. V4 constitutional codifications of a nation
1. Civic Codification (Czech republic)
2. Patriotic mixture of ethnic and civic codifications (Poland)
3. Civic codification combined with externally focused ethnic codification (Hungary)
4. Ethnic codification that defines sovereignty of a „volk“ as a participation and cooperation between ethnic majority and minorities (Slovakia)

20. Failures of Minority Policies - Logical Consequence of Unclear Goals of these Policies
It is not clear what goals CEE government want to achieve. And it hardly can be clear - on one side these countries promise to do everything they can to integrate minorities and on the other minorities threaten social cohesion of ethnically defined countries.
Therefore, it is not clear what CEE countries want to achieve by particular arrangements, what is the vision of all possible investments. Policies suggest that they are aimed at integration, in fact they tend to be assimilationist, and in case of some minorities they result in segregation.
The most important reason behind unclear goals of integration policies? Most of people are afraid of integration of minorities, it destroys their blood-based image of a nation. Minorities are therefore subject to so called racist paradox.
The only dimension of broadly understood integration that is relatively successful in CEE countries is socio-economic integration. But minority policies should be focused on full integration in all dimensions:
1. Cultural integration;
2. Social-economic integration;
3. Civic-political integration.

21. „It is the way you understand yourself, stupid…“
Attempts to integrate and accommodate „others“ failed in most of countries of Central and Eastern Europe due to structural reasons.
In fact, they will be remain unsuccessful without changes of a nation state character, constitutional changes, and precise definition of integration aims.

22. Core of the problem… How to become part of the core.
Integration in both social and civic terms rests on the concept of equal  opportunities for all. In socio-economic terms, minorities must have equal opportunities to lead just as dignified, independent and active lives as the rest of the population.
Equality. Is it enough?
Integration is successful when autochtonous minorities become part of the core in all aspects of life - social, societal, economic, cultural, and symbolic ones. Integration cannot be successful in situation when minorities have problems to penetrate into the core of society.

23. Core and out groups - ideal type
People with permanent residence
Citizens of the country

24. Core and out groups in Slovakia- division of the out group
Citizens of the country
Ethnic Slovaks
People with permanent residence

25. Core and out groups in Slovakia – complex analysis
People with permanent residence
People born in Slovakia
Slovaks born in Slovakia, with multiple identities
Slovaks not born in Slovakia
Citizens of Slovakia
Mythological „core“Slovaks

26. Core and out groups in Slovakia – media coverage and simplification in every-day life
„Bad Slovaks“ (cosmopolitan, with various identities, „de-mythologizied“)
„Good Slovaks“ (no matter of their citizenship)
Non-citizens (with permission to stay)
Non-Slovaks (citizens)

27. How to continue with integration policies?
Continuation of today´s policies is useless as far as inclusion of minorities into the „core“ part of respective nations is concerned.
1. Integration policies toward minorities are being in place more because of existence of a pressure from outside the country than due to interest of officials or public.
2. Inter-ethnic relations toward minorities matter more than any integration policy.
3. The most important question remains whether minorities have where to integrate without full assimilation.

28. What should be done? How to Overcome Historical Determinism?
Need of transfer from ethno-cultural to legal-political definition of a nation or to shift from cultural definition of a nation to voluntaristic one?
Need of redefinition of the core solidarity based on ethnicity to core solidarity based on modern citizenship.
Challenge - how to „sell“ constitutional patriotism to people who are locked in the cage of banal nationalism?