PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION
To the Minister of Foreign Affairs
18/10/1999
On 30/7/1999, with a second question to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, I requested that Parliament discusses and ratifies the
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The Framework Convention
entered into force on 1/2/1998 and Greece has already signed it.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs in his
written answer (23/8/1999) declared that “The ratification of the Framework Convention
of the Council of Europe is a matter of time”. In addition, he stated inaccurately that
“all Council of Europe states that have to this date ratified the Framework Convention,
among which Germany, have made interpretative ‘declarations’, on the basis of which
they either limit the Convention’s application to specific minority groups, which they
name in the text of their declaration; or determine particular criteria on the basis of
which they will identify the national minorities present on their territory and to which,
as a result, this Convention will apply.”
It is nevertheless widely known that the
Convention has been ratified by 28 states. Interpretative “declarations” have been
submitted only by 11 states. Among those, only 4 (Germany, Denmark, FYROM, Slovenia)
“limit the Convention’s application to particular minority groups, which they also
identify in their declaration.” Only 3 states (Austria, Switzerland, Estonia)
“determine particular criteria according to which they will identify the national
minorities present on their territory.” Two states (Liechtenstein, Malta) declare they
have no minorities, one (Bulgaria) simply insists emphatically that the rights provided by
the Convention must not challenge territorial integrity and sovereignty and one (Russia)
rejects every interpretative declaration which either defines minorities or excludes from
its application some groups.
Six of the states with restrictive
declarations belong to the group of countries where the Convention entered into force in
the first semester of 1998. The tendency in the second twelve-month period has been to
ratify the Convention without interpretative declarations, something which is also
recommended by the Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe for the Framework
Convention and was pointed out by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Mr.
Max van der Stoel, during his recent visit in Greece. It is noteworthy that neighboring
Albania is the most recent state that ratified the Convention, and did not make any
restrictive declaration.
Since adequate time has already lapsed
since the previous answer of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, while the last regular
session of Parliament has begun
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is asked
1. When is he going to bring this
Convention to Parliament for ratification.
2. Whether he insists on the need that its
ratification be accompanied by an interpretative declaration. In such case, would the
declaration restrict the Convention’s application or would it simply confirm its
provisions, that is that its application may not challenge the territorial integrity and
sovereignty of Greece.
The deputy raising the question
Maria Damanaki (Progressive Left Coalition)
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