Call for Abstracts: What Next 30 Years After the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities

Minority Rights Solidarity Network and the Sussex Centre for Human Rights Research plan to hold a workshop on 11 May 2023 at the University of Sussex on the topic of reform of the UN minority rights regime. The workshop coincides with the 30^th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. It is intended as a stocktaking exercise of the current UN framework for minority protection, and whether it is time to pursue the adoption of a minority rights treaty.

Within the framework of this workshop, Minority Rights Solidarity Network and the Sussex Centre for Human Rights Research invite academics and practitioners in the field of minority rights to submit abstracts exploring one or more of the following themes:

Stocktaking: Does the current international human rights law framework adequately protect the rights of persons belonging to minorities? Are persons belonging to minorities sufficiently heard within this system? Are the rights contained within the UN Declaration appropriate for the needs of minorities? To what extent is the current framework relevant to all regions of the world? Are minority rights sufficiently mainstreamed within the work of UN bodies?
Ways Forward (Architecture): Is a UN treaty for the protection of minorities desirable? OR would improved mainstreaming serve the same purpose? What would a minority rights treaty look like? Which or all minorities? Is current terminology (ethnic or national, religious and linguistic minorities) appropriate? Would a treaty have enforcement/complaints mechanisms/is this desirable? What rights should it contain?
Ways Forward (Inclusion): How can (and should) representatives of minorities be integrated into treaty drafting processes? Can/should minority representatives be better integrated into (or able to shape the agendas of) other UN mechanisms (e.g. the UN Forum on Minority Issues)? Who represents minorities in formal processes? How can broader engagement of minorities with UN mechanisms be facilitated? How can the framework avoid being Western-centric?

Abstracts and a short CV should be submitted to by 31 March 2023. Small bursaries to cover travel for PhD students and those without institutional support may be available.