CYIL vol. 9 (2018)

JÁN KLUČKA CYIL 9 ȍ2018Ȏ to the minority questions in the post-war era. As has been mentioned above, the United Nations Charter does not speak to the protection of minorities. The absence of such reference cannot be however interpreted to mean that the protection of minorities does not come within its scope. The UN Charter embodies the principles of respect of human rights and of non-discrimination on grounds of race, sex, language, and religion. 34 The respect for these principles however represents two elements in the minorities protection system established after the First World War. Only the third element in that system, namely the recognition of special rights for minorities, is omitted in the Charter. 35 Beyond this general approach to minorities within the context of universal human rights the UN put, early after its founding, the emphasis on the specificities of the minorities as well. The Council of the Commission on Human Rights by its resolution 2/9 of 21 June 1946 decided to establish the “Sub- Commission on the Protection of Minorities” 36 and later in 1947 this Commission was replaced by the “Sub-Commission on the prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities”. 37 In the UN GA Resolution 217 C (III), containing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the General Assembly requested the Council: to ask the Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities to make a thorough study of the problem of minorities in order that the United Nations may be able to take effective measures for the protection of racial, national, religious and linguistic minorities. 38 The activities of the Sub-Commission as the only body specifically charged with the examination of the minority question however confirmed its uneven intensity to deal effectively with its agenda. The Sub-commission in principle ignored minorities issues for the duration of the Cold War (1945–1989) and its efforts therefore “culminated” in 1992 by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious 34 Preamble of the Charter, Articles 1, 13, 55, 62, 68 and 76 of the Charter. 35 This a therefore only a few exceptions which proves the existence of the above UN principle because: “The decisions of principal organs of the United Nations which have dealt with special protective measures for ethnic, religious or linguistic groups include three General Assembly resolutions: resolution 181 (II), on the future government of Palestine; resolution 289 (IV), on the question of the disposal of the former Italian colonies; and resolution 390 (V), on the question of Eritrea. The Statute of the City of Jerusalem, approved by the Trusteeship Council on 4 April 1950, also provides for special protective measures for ethnic, religious or linguistic groups in articles dealing with human rights and fundamental freedoms (article 9), the Legislative Council (article 21), the judicial system (article 28), official and working languages (article 31), the educational system and cultural and benevolent institutions (article 32) and broadcasting and television (article 33).” CAPOTORTI, F.: Study on the rights of persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/384, Rev. 1 (1979), p. 27 (141), p. 28 (144). 36 Report of the First Session of the Commission on Human Rights, Doc. E/259, para. 8. 37 Some changes can be however identified in time with respect of the UN bodies charged with the minority issues. Working group on Minorities was established in 1995 as a subsidiary organ of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (previously called the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities) and in 2007 this Working Group was replaced by the Forum on Minority Issues (established by the Human Rights Council Resolution 6/15). The main purpose of the Forum is to provide a platform for promoting dialogue and cooperation on issues pertaining to minorities and to identify best practices and initiatives for further implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. 38 Resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, Third Session, Part I, p. 77.

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