Event Held in Scotland to Promote Council of Europe’s Minority Protections

The University of Glasgow’s College of Social Sciences and Centre for Public Policy, in cooperation with the University of Edinburgh, held a public event on December 13-14, which was aimed at increasing awareness about the Council of Europe’s conventions protecting minority rights and minority languages. Representatives of the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) and the Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages (ECRML) participated in the event. The representatives presented the provisions of their respective conventions, and discussed recommendations made by the Committees in relation to the United Kingdom.

In addition to the committee representatives, Scottish government officials, civil society actors, and minorities also participated in the event. They discussed topics ranging from minority languages, the rights of Roma, Gypsy/Travellers, and ethnic minorities, and hate crimes.

According to the Council of Europe, the event “contributed to raising awareness of Council of Europe instruments for the protection of minorities and minority languages in Scotland, as well as to finding ways for all actors involved in the field to actively engage with the monitoring process to contribute to improving the situation on the ground.”

More information about the event and the Council of Europe’s minority rights activities in the United Kingdom can be found on its website.