III OSCE
| Author | Arie Bloed |
| Date | 01 December 2012 |
| Published date | 01 December 2012 |
| DOI | 10.1177/016934411203000409 |
| Subject Matter | Part B: Human Rights News |
500 Intersentia
III OSCE
A B*
1. 20 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF HIGH COMMISSIONER ON
NATIONAL MINORITIES1
At the end of this year precisely 20 yea rs will have passed si nce the o cial establishment
of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM). is institution
started fu nctioning as of January 1993, built up by the succe ssful rst HCNM Max van
der Stoel. As a lead-up to this anniversary the European Centre on Minority Issues
in Flensburg, Germany, organiz ed a one-day conference called ‘HCNM 20 Years On’
on the 6th of July 2012 which was addressed by the present HCNM, Knut Vollebaek.
It was also at this very place t hat the rst HCNM made his rst public speech as High
Commissioner in 1993.
In his address, Vollebaek re ected on the polit ical context in Europe 20 years ago
and the challenges that the institution was established to meet. He also identi ed
new issues that he faces in h is work. While ethnic tensions have not gone away, their
manifestations have changed , he said. In some cases, t he countries and people su ering
the destabilizi ng e ect s of eth nic con icts are the same; in ot hers the ashpoints have
shi ed. He pointed to the rise in kin-State activism and ‘passportization’ as serious
concerns. ‘I believe the HCNM has an important role to play both in trying to stem
these tendencies and to develop rules of engagement that can guide States in their
policies and communication on cross-border minorit y matters,’ Vollebaek sa id.
He also considered how the institution is adapting to meet new challenges and
the special contribution it can make to international a airs. ‘Few, if any, other
international institutions have developed instruments like the HCNM,’ Vollebaek
said. is meant there was ‘a niche where the HCNM c an and does play an important
role as a neutral and tr usted actor,’ he added.
Ukraine is one of the ‘trouble-spots’ where the High Commissioner became
involved very recently, just a few weeks a er the conference in Flensburg. His work
in Ukrai ne, the State which is scheduled to take over the OSCE Chair manship at the
end of the year, concerned the new language law which ha s caused enormous debate
* Expert on OSC E and law enforcement issues.
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