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 The Ethnic Conflict Research Digest |
2001, Vol. 4 No. 1 . |
Devising an Adequate System of Minority Protection. Individual Human Rights, Minority Rights, and the Right to Self-Determination | |
Henrard, Kristin | |
The Hague, Boston, London: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2000 ISBN 90-411-1359-2 | |
| Should I ever be charged with devising a system of minority protection on a remote island and be simultaneously constrained by airline baggage allowances, Henrard's book would certainly be among the essentials I would take along - for what she provides is one of the most comprehensive treatments of minority protection from a legal perspective that I know of.
The book is divided into four chapters, preceded by a short introduction and followed by an even shorter conclusion. What I found particularly reader-friendly is the fact that Henrard spared me from yet another extensive discussion of historic developments of minority protection, but provides instead a five-page summary of the most important developments with rather extensive footnotes referencing the key works that can be consulted for further reading. Equally brief but nonetheless informative is the discussion of the more fundamental issue of what exactly a minority is. From the outset, Henrard acknowledges that there is no universally agreed definition. She examines the most influential definitions thus far -Capotorti and Deschênes at the UN level (pp. 21-24), and various proposals at the European level (pp. 25-30) - and derives from them a list of components that a majority of these definitions include. These components (different ethnic, linguistic, or religious characteristics; numerical position; non-dominant position; nationality requirement; subjective component; official recognition; loyalty requirement) are then individually assessed in their importance and a working definition is provided (p. 48). After elaborating on the use of qualifying terms, such as ethnic, racial, religious, linguistic, and national, Henrard provides her own definition which is, unsurprisingly, similar to those previously examined, but omits both the nationality (citizenship) and loyalty requirements that can be found elsewhere. Following this groundwork, chapters II to IV respectively cover the contribution of individual human rights, minority rights, and the right to self-determination to an adequate system of minority protection. The extensive discussion and analysis of the relevant international documents (at UN, OSCE, and European level) in each of the chapters is substantiated by an examination of court cases, primarily in relation to Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Yet, Henrard doesn't stop at the level of analysing legal documents but goes further and elaborates on current debates among legal experts on such crucial issues as 'special rights' (pp. 218-233) and group rights (pp. 233-243) and relates them to those aspects of minorities' identities that are often the 'focal point of their [i.e., minorities' - S.W.] more concrete demands' (p. 244), such as language, religion, culture/ethnicity, education, media, and political participation. A similarly enlightening analysis of the more fundamental issues that have informed the legal as well as the political discourse on minority protection is conducted in relation to the right to self-determination. A brief discussion of the internal and external dimensions of self-determination (pp. 296-306) is then followed by a more detailed examination of federalism (pp. 308-311), autonomy (pp. 311-313), and power-sharing (pp. 313-314) as forms in which the internal dimension of the right to self-determination can be realised. Finally, Henrard looks into the relationship between minority rights and the right to self-determination (pp. 314-316) and between the latter and individual human rights (pp. 316-319). Acknowledging that the issue of secession has 'coloured this debate [on the right to self-determination] in the most negative way' (p. 314), she recognises that minority rights are not always sufficient 'in their contribution towards an optimal protection and promotion of the minorities' right to identity' (p. 316). This leads her to conclude that 'there is an intrinsic connection between minority rights and an internal right to self-determination' (p. 316), while she considers the right to self-determination a human right itself and 'a necessary condition for the exercise of all other individual human rights' (pp. 316-317). Thus, Henrard's book is an invaluable resource guide for anyone interested in the protection of minorities, be it from an academic or a practical perspective. At the same time, she also delivers a clear argument in support of the use of the whole range of legal instruments available for the protection of minorities, or, as Henrard herself would phrase it, for the 'accommodation of population diversity'. This argument culminates in her assertion that 'it seems justified to conclude that individual human rights, minority rights, and a right to (internal) self-determination are all three needed and interrelate for the elaboration of an adequate system of minority protection' (p. 321). The only slight disappointment with the book is the fact that, especially given its rather exorbitant price, more care could have been invested in the copy-editing process. Spelling and punctuation mistakes are quite frequent, and given that Henrard herself is not a native speaker of English, responsibility for these shortcomings lies with the publisher alone. In any revised edition, which in some years from now may be necessary as international and national law systems will evolve, these issues should be addressed. On the other hand, the book is presented in a solid and apparently durable hardback edition which will guarantee it a sufficiently long physical life in libraries where it is sure to be consulted frequently for its thematic comprehensiveness, intellectual rigour of analysis, and clarity of argument. What is more, especially for the non-lawyer, neither Henrard's argument nor the book as a whole are overly technical in their vocabulary, and thus allow political scientists, sociologists, and others working in the field easy access to the legal discourse on minority protection. This, too, should ensure the wide and positive reception this book deserves. | |
Stefan Wolf, University of Bath | |
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