Protection of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minority

• Author: Laura Dumitrana Bosca Rath
• Position: Teaching Assistent., AGORA University, Law and Economics Faculty
• Pages: 66-68

PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS BELONGING TO

ETHNIC, RELIGIOUS AND LINGUISTIC MINORITY

Laura-Dumitrana Rath-Boşca

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∗∗

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Abstract

After the Second World War, the minority protection regime imposed on certain

countries, through the peace treaties, including Romania, and protection procedures

established by the League of Nations, legally ceased.

We see today a trend in our age of uniformity of human society. However, the national

consciousness, consciousness of belonging to a certain community exists.

Key words: free movement, migration, protection of minorities, pluralist society

Introduction

The right to free movement eases migration of a large numbers of people from one

region to another, which leads to the formation of new ethnic, religious and linguistic

communities.

It is natural that contemporary society to be concerned and willing to find as many

ways to provide legal protection of minorities of any kind these would be: ethnic, religious,

linguistic and even sexual.

Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) has given the term „minority” the

following explanation: “a group of people who live in a country or a locality having their own

race, religion, language and traditions, united by their identity in a feeling of solidarity to

preserve their traditions, religious forms, providing education and raising children in

accordance with the spirit and traditions of their race and helping one another.”

1

International law has given a great attention to this problem, the protection of persons

belonging to minorities, at the end of World War I, through peace treaties of Versailles,

Saint-Germain, Neuilly and Trianon, signed b y the Allied and Associated Powers with

Czechoslovak State, Poland, Serb-Croat-Slovene State, Romania and Greece. These treaties

contain identical clauses regarding minorities, seeking to defend the interests of people in

terms of race, language or religion.

”In the plan of international organizations, in the League of Nations, a procedure was

introduced to guarantee the rights of persons belonging to minorities, that they had a right

to petition and committees for minorities were established, an important role in this field

being achieved by the Permanent Court of International Justice.“

2

Peace Treaties of 1947 did not restore the conventional commitments agreed at the

end of World War I, and the United Nations did not take over the protection system of

minorities organized by the League of Nations.

Some international instruments which give a true picture of the evolution of

minorities’ problem after the Second World War are: International Covenant on Civil and

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Teaching Assistent., AGORA University, Law and Economics Faculty dumitra1970@yahoo.com

1

Permanent Court of International Justice.

2

Raluca Miga Belteliu, Catrinel Brumar, “International protection of human rights”, Ed. Universul Juridic,

Bucureşti, 2007.