Implementation of the Framework Convention Standards in Protecting National Minorities in Serbia: Lessons (Not) Learned
Implementation of the Framework Convention Standards in Protecting National Minorities in Serbia: Lessons (Not) Learned

Author(s): Goran Bašić
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Sociology, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Summary/Abstract: The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities is a multilateral document of the Council of Europe dedicated to issues concerning the status and protection of individuals belonging to national minorities. The implementation of the Framework Convention in Serbia has an interesting and unique history. At the beginning of the millennium, it was expected that the implementation of FCNM and the adoption of the Law on the Protection of the Rights and Freedoms of National Minorities would resolve issues related to the status and realization of the individual and collective rights of minority communities, as well as those concerning interethnic relations. Two decades of implementing FCNM in Serbia indicate the application of international standards in national legislation. However, many problems remain unresolved: there is a significant social distance between ethnic communities; issues related to the recognition of multiple ethnic affiliations hinder the full expression of citizens’ ethnocultural identity; ethnic desegregated data is missing for planning public policies of multiculturalism and inclusion; concepts of minority autonomy and self-government are undermined by a centralized model and the predominance of party politics within the bodies of cultural autonomy institutions. Lastly, numerical censuses are a requirement for the institutional recognition of minority identities. All of the above points to a tension between, more or less, “good” laws and “poor” policies of multiculturalism. Keywords: Framework Convention, Serbia, multiculturalism, ethnic segregation

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