Dear Colleagues,

The Council of Europe’s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCPNM) is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. On this occasion, a conference is organised aimed at assessing the impact of this premier legal instrument for the protection of minority rights in Europe. The conference ‘Assessing the Impact of the Framework Convention: Past Experience, Present Achievements and Future Challenges’ will be held in Strasbourg from 9-10 October 2008.

An important component of this conference is the participation of NGOs who over the past decade have carried out work on the promotion and strengthening of the implementation of the Framework Convention.

Some 32 minority rights NGOs from the Council of Europe area have worked together and drafted a Declaration on the impact of the Framework Convention. The document will be presented at the Conference. The purpose of the Declaration is to provide a strong NGO perspective on the FCPNM’s impact to date, how implementation can be strengthened, ratification expanded and greater impact secured in the future. The Declaration contains specific recommendations for a variety of stakeholders involved with the Framework Convention such as the Advisory Committee, the Council of Ministers, CoE Member States, as well as civil society organizations.

Please find the NGO Declaration in the attachment*

In order to make this document as strong as possible, we hope that other minority rights NGOs, beyond the original group which prepared the text, will join this initiative. If you support the Declaration and would like your organisation to be among its signatories, please send an email by 7 October to FCNM.confere…@mrgmail.org

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

With best regards,

Galina Kostadinova
Human Rights Law Officer (Europe)
Minority Rights Group International
54 Commercial Street
London E1 6LT
United Kingdom
Tel. +44 (0)20 7422 4217
Fax. +44 (0)20 7422 4201
galina.kostadin…@mrgmail.org
http://www.minorityrights.org/