CYIL 2012

HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION AND MULTICULTURALISM: A MONTENEGRO PERSPECTIVE Human rights protection in today’s diverse world is linked with and conditioned by assuring the respect for diversity. It is evident that most of the states all over the world are multicultural, although not all of them recognize that fact. 3 Respect of diversity is a parameter of democracy of each modern society, especially multicultural ones. In the Western Balkans, a multicultural region for ages, all states are multi-ethnic/ cultural/national. The situation in the region could be defined as sui generis , having in mind that here multiculturalism could neither be defined as a ‘melting pot’ nor a ‘bowl of mixed salad’, but a specific mixture of ethnicities, religions, nationalities, and languages with the emergence of ‘new’ minorities 4 after the dissolution of former Yugoslavia. The region, which has been challenged by interethnic classes and turbulences for ages, survived two Balkan Wars and several civil wars and undefined non-international armed conflicts, as well as internationalized ones. 5 In addition, both World Wars were initiated in the turbulent Balkans – the ‘powder keg’. All armed conflicts here originated from interethnic and interreligious disrespect and intolerance. Montenegro is one of the states which renewed its independence after the dissolution of Former Yugoslav Federation. 6 However, unlike other former Yugoslav federal republics, Montenegrin independence extends beyond modern history, 7 having been derived in the 11th century, reconfirmed at the Berlin Congress in 1878, 8 and abolished after the First World War in 1918. Montenegrin multiculturalism started to develop after the Berlin Congress, in which the recognition of its statehood was conditioned on respect of unorthodox citizens of Montenegro, which was a sensitive issue at that time. Since then, the spirit of harmony has been developed until present. During the recent armed conflicts and turbulences in the Balkans, Montenegro resisted all external challenges and impacts, proving that interethnic and intercultural harmony had become traditional. 9 However, there is still a lot of space for improvement of the human minority rights 3 Some states which do not recognize the existence of national minorities made reservation to article 27 of ICCPR, such as France. Human Rights Committee accepted the reservation, during consideration of the case Cadoret, Le Bihan v. France (opinion brought on 11. 04. 1991). 4 The concept of ‘new’ minorities is used for the people belonging to other former Yugoslav republics, such as Serbs, Montenegrins, Croats, Macedonians, Slovenians, etc. Previously, all of them were Yugoslavs. 5 Term “internationalized” is borrowed from the terminology of ICRC. The concept was mainly developed after the armed conflicts in the Balkans, which had started as internal conflicts and increased into international ones among new states, former Yugoslav republics, and finally the intervention of the international community was needed in order to stop violence and warfare. 6 Independence of Montenegro was acquired by referendum on 21 st May 2006. Montenegro became a member state of the United Nations on 28 th June 2006. 7 More in: Jelić I.: “Minority Rights Protection at the Level of the Western Balkans, with Special Emphasis on Montenegro”, in: System Changes in South Eastern Europe: Social, Political and Demographic Consequences, Der Donauraum, vol. ½, 2009, p. 60, 61. 8 Only those states which had not recognized Montenegro before the Berlin Congress were obliged to do so. Practically speaking, that was only the Ottoman Empire. 9 More in: Jelić I.: Montenegro, Oasis of Peace in the Balkans: An Overview of Human Rights and Diversity , ISEEES Newsletter, University of California, Berkeley, vol. 22, no. 2, 2005, pp. 12-16.

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