I Book Review: Minorities and International Law: Prospects for an Adequate Protection, Devising an Adequate System of Minority Protection. Individual Human Rights, Minority Rights and the Right to Self-Determination, towards International Personality: The Position of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in International Law, Quiet Diplomacy in Action: The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Minorities in International Law, the Right to Development: Obligation of States and the Rights of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410402200111 |
| Date | 01 March 2004 |
| Published date | 01 March 2004 |
| Subject Matter | Part C: DocumentationI Book Review |
question’. It may very well be that police in North-western Europe will also
express a high degree of agreement on this issue; unfortunately we do not
know this.
The central theme of this book can be formulated as ‘the police will align
with the cultural and historical aspects of a country’. From this it follows that
police cannot be asked to be the initiator of social change. A country in
transition will effect policing, how the police deals with this depends on
many factors. And reverse: the way the police respond can facilitate or
frustrate further societal development; indeed the authors give quite a few
examples of this. However, even when accepting that democratic and
human rights oriented policing are the best ways to police, that does not
necessarily mean that crisis and authoritarian policing must lead to human
rights violations. Professionalisation is the key. As the authors state at the
end of their book: ‘by professionalizing on a variety of fronts, the police can
do much on their own to bridge the legitimacy gap regardless of the limiting
conditions encountered’ (p. 204). This is a realistic view which creates
ground for optimism.
Minorities and International Law: Prospects for an Adequate Protection
Kristin Henrard,
Devising an Adequate System of Minority Protection.
Individual Human Rights, Minority Rights and the Right to Self-
Determination,
Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague/Boston/London, 2000, 368
p., ISBN 90-4111-359-2*
Anna Meijknecht,
Towards International Personality: The Position of
Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in International Law,
Intersentia,
Antwerp/Groningen/Oxford, 2001, 271 p., ISBN 90-5095-166-X*
Walter A. Kemp,
Quiet Diplomacy in Action: The OSCE High Commissi-
oner on National Minorities,
Kluwer Law International, The Hague/
London/Boston, 2001, 271 p., ISBN 90-5095-166-X*
Guetano Pentasugglia,
Minorities in International Law,
Council of Europe
Publishing, Strasbourg, 2002, 304 p., ISBN 92-871-4773-6*
Margot E. Salomon with Arjun Sengupta,
The Right to Development:
Obligation of States and the Rights of Minorities and Indigenous
Peoples,
Minority Rights Group International, London, 2003, 72 p.,
ISBN 1-897693-99-0*
In the 1990s and at the beginning of the 21st century it has become clear
that minorities and their position in international law are permanently to be
I Book Reviews
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights, Vol. 22/1 (2004) 147
* Dr. Joost Herman is Associate Professor of International Relations and Director of Studies of
the Master’s on Humanitarian Action, both at Groningen University, the Netherlands.
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