National minorities in inter-State relations: Conference discusses ways forward ten years after OSCE High Commissioner’s Bolzano/Bozen Recommendations
UDINE, Italy, 16 July 2018 – Where states focus on efforts to integrate majority and minority communities on their own territories, societies become more resilient and national minorities are less likely to be at the centre of inter-State issues, said participants at the conclusion of today’s conference in Udine, Italy, marking the 10th anniversary of the OSCE High Commissioner’s Bolzano/Bozen Recommendations on National Minorities in Inter-State Relations.
The conference brought together representatives of OSCE participating States, international organizations and experts to discuss important developments and emerging challenges related to state engagement with national minorities abroad. In particular, they highlighted the impact of benefits afforded to national minorities, as well as approaches and mechanisms for the resolution of disputes arising in this context.
“While ‘kin-States’ may have legitimate concerns about national minorities abroad, their policies should not jeopardize or complicate the sustainable integration of those minorities in their home state,” said the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) Lamberto Zannier.
The Italian 2018 OSCE Chairmanship Co-ordinator, Vinicio Mati, recalled that the Bolzano/Bozen Recommendations “continue to be a fundamental tool to ensure good neighbourly relations, with communities that transcend national borders and serve as bridges between countries, promoting dialogue between them.”
In his keynote speech, the former President of Slovenia, Danilo Türk, stated that “the Bolzano/Bozen Recommendations require the responsible exercise of state sovereignty, both by the home states to all of its citizens, and by ‘kin-States’ to minorities abroad. The Recommendations elegantly encapsulate the responsible approaches needed to deal with these sensitive issues, including where possible through the establishment of bilateral commissions.”
Launched by the HCNM in Bolzano/Bozen, Italy, in 2008, the Recommendations serve as an important tool to address national minority issues of relevance across state borders. This is even more relevant today, noted the Conference participants, when geopolitics are impacting the OSCE agenda.
Acknowledging that state sovereignty and territorial integrity remain the fundamental principle of inter-State relations, the Recommendations outline a framework for states to work co-operatively to prevent disputes concerning the status of national minorities.
Related links:
https://www.osce.org/hcnm/383205
https://www.osce.org/hcnm/384960