International studies, Vol. IX No. 3, 2009.
Conference paper
Political Participation of Minorities - the Case of Slovenia
Vera Klopčić
; Institute for Ethnic Studies, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract
In this article, the author examines the legal protection of minority groups, within the context of the implementation of international legal protection of human rights, as well as in the context of particular legal norms within the internal legal system of Slovenia. European anti-discrimination legislation prohibits discrimination based on different characteristics, and within this framework, the discrimination which is based on racial or ethnic origin. This perspective constantly instigates new questions and reflections on the meaning of individual and particular collective minority rights. The principle of social inclusion, in its broadest meaning, protects the members of "endangered groups" against discrimination on the same level and on the general basis, and thus is suitable for the protection of all members of recognized and unrecognized minorities. At the same time, the institute of particular minority rights of classical national minorities is being neglected, and from the perspective of minorities and advocates for their rights to development, preservation and expression of their identity and adequate political participation, these issues still remain incomplete. In the context of European integration, all the states in the region have already begun to adopt the measures for the implementation of legal measures which prohibit any kind of discrimination, which can also contribute to the alleviation of the possible political tensions, based on ethnic, cultural and religious differences. At the same time, special position of national minority communities has urged the need to regulate their position through the use of special norms, which define the elements important for the coexistence and quality dialogue between the members of minority communities and majority population, as well as other minority communities, and the states of their national origin.
Keywords
national minorities; international protection of national minorities; antidiscrimination; European integration; political participation of national minorities; Slovenia
Hrčak ID:
291387
URI
Publication date:
18.10.2009.
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