I Book Review: Universal Minority Rights. A Commentary on the Jurisprudence of International Courts and Treaty Bodies
| Date | 01 March 2009 |
| Published date | 01 March 2009 |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934410902700112 |
| Subject Matter | Part D: DocumentationI Book Review |
I Book Reviews
Netherlands Q uarterly of Human R ights, Vol. 27/1 (2009) 117
try to ensure that another limb of Netherlands policy was achieved, ensuri ng eective
supervisory mec hanisms were installed in any new normat ive instrument.
ese and other examples given, lead Dr Reiding to the verdict that whatever about
its self image the Netherlands was more of a follower than a leader in i nternational
human rights standard setting. It went with the ow. e one great except ion is
given in depth t reatment in this book, the Netherlands initiative in t he CSCE to
have established the Hig h Commissioner on National Minorities. e context for t he
initiative was the beginnings of the Yugoslav crisis in 1991 which coincided w ith the
Netherlands presidency of the EC and t he dismal failure of Europe to nd a common
position on the cr isis, inevitably if un fairly blamed on the Netherlands presidency.
e idea of a new institution to protect minorities was born out of that experience,
but al so the need to restore the country’s damaged reputation. is strong c hapter
amply demonst rates the research value of having access to archival docu mentation
including records of diplomatic exchanges, source material which i s enhance d by
interviews w ith ocials, diplomats and politicia ns. e reconstruction and appraisa l
of the negotiations between CSCE States over the High Commissioner on National
Minorities is a major contr ibution to scholarship of both international law and
international relations.
is is a pioneering work on which later research will undoubtedly build. It
will hopefully be the inspiration for similar rese arch in other countries. While the
author’s conclusions are suitably measured, she conrms t hat the commitment of the
Netherlands in 1979 to integrate the promotion of human rights in its foreign pol icy
has been upheld by all governments since that date. All Dutch along with t he rest of
us can celebrate that achie vement.
Marc Weller (ed.), Universal Minority Rights. A Commentary on the Jurisprudence
of Internatio nal Courts and Treaty Bodies, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007,
504 pp., ISBN: 978–0-19–920851–7*
e com mendable aim of t his book is to consolidate and analyse the enti re
jurisprudence of international and regional bodies on the issue of minority protection.
is unprecedented undertak ing has resulted in 13, separate contributions discussing
many current minority-rights-related issues, such as the positioning of minority rights
as huma n rights, t he issue of dening minor ities, and t he meaning of general non-
discrimi nation provisions for minority contex ts. e contributions also describe the
jurisprudential developments with regard to rights usually associated with minorities:
the r ights to e xpression, assembly and association; family, private life, and cultural
* Anna Meijkn echt, Senior Rese archer, Center for Transb oundary Leg al Development, Ti lburg
University, the Netherl ands.
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