Content with tag national minorities .

Viewpoint

Language rights of national minorities must be respected – their denial undermines human rights and causes inter-communal tensions

25/01/2010 Strasbourg

Language rights have become an issue of contention within several European countries, and as a consequence also between neighbouring states. While some governments take steps to strengthen the standing of the official language, national minorities are concerned that their linguistic rights are...

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Multiculturalism is an important dimension of our national identities

30/11/2009 Strasbourg

Europe today is not free from racism, xenophobia, islamophobia, anti-Gypsism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and other phobias directed against others. Minorities are made targets of hate speech, violence and systematic discrimination, not least in the job market. Responsible politicians must take...

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Stop and searches on ethnic or religious grounds are not effective

20/07/2009 Strasbourg

Members of minorities are more often than others stopped by the police, asked for identity papers, questioned and searched. They are victims of “ethnic profiling”, a form of discrimination which is widespread in today’s Europe. Such methods clash with agreed human rights standards. They tend also...

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