Last year, on the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the Special Rapporteur on Minority Rights, Fernand de Varennes, called for a new treaty to better recognize and protect the rights of minorities.
On behalf of the Coppieters Foundation, Dr. Anwen Elias has written a report which considers the implications of a new legal framework to protect minority rights on the exercise of the right of self-determination.
Dr Elias presented the paper at the United Nations Geneva on Thursday 30 2023 during the panel: Side-event to the 16th edition of the Forum of Minority Issues.
The Panel reflected on the current UN minority rights framework from the perspective of national communities within a larger state that claim a right to decide for themselves how they are governed.
Panel members also included Jordi Garrell, Director of Centre International Escarré per a les Minories Ètniques i les Nacions (CIEMEN) and Iñaki Irazabalbeitia, Bureau Member of Coppieters Foundation.
Read the full report here: Exercising the Right of Self-Determination: Opportunities and Limitations of a New Treaty on Minority Rights