Significance of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Shaping Croatian Minority Policy
Significance of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Shaping Croatian Minority Policy

Author(s): Ružica Jakešević, Siniša Tatalović
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Social Sciences, Sociology, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies
Published by: Институт друштвених наука
Keywords: Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM); national minorities in Croatia; Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities; minority rights; political participation
Summary/Abstract: The ratification of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) in Croatia in 1997 marked the beginning of the formation of a model for the protection of national minorities based on the principles of identity and integration. According to these principles, members of national minorities should be integrated into Croatian society as equal citizens, but also have the possibility of preserving and developing their minority identities. The FCNM, together with European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, served as the basis for the subsequent adoptions of the Law on the Official Use of the Language and Script of National Minorities (2000) and the Law on Education in the Language and Script of National Minorities (2000), as well as Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities (2002) as the most important piece of minority legislation in Croatia. The adoption of a normative framework for the protection of national minorities was an important prerequisite for the beginning of Croatia’s European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The FCNM and national legislation in Croatia enabled a high level of participation of national minorities in decision-making processes at all levels of government, as well as the establishment of minority institutions for the preservation and development of their identities.

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