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<p>The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), opened for signature in 1995 and entering into in force in 1998, remains the most extensive and comprehensive international instrument devoted to the protection of persons belonging to national minorities. The FCNM is inspired by international human rights instruments and is functionally interlinked with them, serving analogous purposes and exhibiting similar structural features. It constructs the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities using a legislative drafting technique that employs numerous and diverse general clauses. The concept of the national minority is pivotal to FCNM, as it determines the identification of the rights-holding subject within its system. During the negotiation of the treaty, this approach was deemed pragmatic due to the lack of consensus among states regarding a shared understanding of the term. The advantages of flexibility in the absence of strict legal definitions were already noted in Roman jurisprudence, as reflected in the maxim omnis definitio [in iure civili] periculosa est (Drzewicki, K., The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and its conflict prevention mandate, An outline of the lecture, Faculty of Law, University of Strasbourg, 12.01. 2026, para. 8.4.). Some States Parties to the FCNM have sought to clarify, at least partially, the concept of national minority by submitting interpretative declarations or reservations. Notwithstanding the absence of an agreed definition of a national minority within the FCNM, its implementation has given rise to another indeterminate expression closely related to that concept, namely “disadvantaged national minority”. This term was introduced into the FCNM system by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ACFC), which has elaborated its meaning by identifying groups that, in its opinion, meet the criteria of a disadvantaged national minority. At present, groups such as the Roma and indigenous peoples are regarded as falling within this category. The attempt undertaken in this article to determine their status required an analysis of the ACFC’s jurisprudence. Given the breadth of the issues involved, the article confines itself to presenting selected aspects of the functioning of disadvantaged national minorities in the public sphere. This analysis leads to the conclusion that distinguishing the category of disadvantaged national minority within the FCNM serves two purposes: it draws attention to the specific difficulties these groups face, and it highlights the need for a level of protection tailored to their circumstances, thereby ensuring their genuine participation in political, economic, social and cultural life.</p>

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The Status of Disadvantaged National Minorities in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities: Selected Examples of the Functioning of Disadvantaged National Minorities in the Public Sphere

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年3月3日

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  • Katarzyna Łasak

摘要

The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM), opened for signature in 1995 and entering into in force in 1998, remains the most extensive and comprehensive international instrument devoted to the protection of persons belonging to national minorities. The FCNM is inspired by international human rights instruments and is functionally interlinked with them, serving analogous purposes and exhibiting similar structural features. It constructs the protection of the rights of persons belonging to national minorities using a legislative drafting technique that employs numerous and diverse general clauses. The concept of the national minority is pivotal to FCNM, as it determines the identification of the rights-holding subject within its system. During the negotiation of the treaty, this approach was deemed pragmatic due to the lack of consensus among states regarding a shared understanding of the term. The advantages of flexibility in the absence of strict legal definitions were already noted in Roman jurisprudence, as reflected in the maxim omnis definitio [in iure civili] periculosa est (Drzewicki, K., The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and its conflict prevention mandate, An outline of the lecture, Faculty of Law, University of Strasbourg, 12.01. 2026, para. 8.4.). Some States Parties to the FCNM have sought to clarify, at least partially, the concept of national minority by submitting interpretative declarations or reservations. Notwithstanding the absence of an agreed definition of a national minority within the FCNM, its implementation has given rise to another indeterminate expression closely related to that concept, namely “disadvantaged national minority”. This term was introduced into the FCNM system by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (ACFC), which has elaborated its meaning by identifying groups that, in its opinion, meet the criteria of a disadvantaged national minority. At present, groups such as the Roma and indigenous peoples are regarded as falling within this category. The attempt undertaken in this article to determine their status required an analysis of the ACFC’s jurisprudence. Given the breadth of the issues involved, the article confines itself to presenting selected aspects of the functioning of disadvantaged national minorities in the public sphere. This analysis leads to the conclusion that distinguishing the category of disadvantaged national minority within the FCNM serves two purposes: it draws attention to the specific difficulties these groups face, and it highlights the need for a level of protection tailored to their circumstances, thereby ensuring their genuine participation in political, economic, social and cultural life.