Hungarian American Coalition News, 2006 (15. évfolyam, 1. szám)
2006 / 1. szám
Percentage of the Hungarian minorities in the Carpathian Basin (around 1990) In June 2005, the Romanian authorities requested the Venice Commission, dedicated to monitoring minority issues, to provide its expertise on the draft law on the Statute of National Minorities Living in Romania. Mr. Sergio Bartolle and Mr. Pieter van Dijk were appointed to coordinate efforts with official Romanian representatives in issuing the report. The Commission is of the opinion that most of the objective elements included in Article 3, paragraph 1, namely that numerical inferiority and culturally or ethnically specific characteristics “do not raise any problem” but they are not required by international standards. A definition of minorities accepted by the international community states: “a minority is a group numerically inferior to the rest of the population, in a non-dominant position, including nationals of the state, possessing distinct ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics and showing a sense of solidarity aimed to preserve those characteristics” (Francesco Capotorti (UN Special Rapporteur). The Commission concluded that the draft law contains provisions, which, in principle, constitute a satisfactory framework for the protection of minority rights in Romania19. However, the draft law includes certain limitations and several uncertainties as to its meaning and scope. The members of the Commission recommend addressing these shortcomings in order to make the draft easier to implement. In addition, in order to better comply with the freedom of association Hungarian American Coalition - June 2006 - 5
