Minority Rights Protection and Human Rights Policies in ... - IFSH

Volker Pabst, M.P.S. candidate at the IFSH: “Swiss model” of minority protection
Volker talked about the history of Switzerland, the state system and the “Swiss model” of
minority protection. He also mentioned current challenges for the Swiss system. Volker
described Switzerland as an alliance of sovereign cantons; he mentioned additionally that
there is not one “Swiss language”, but four linguistic regions. In Switzerland there are
different levels of heterogeneity, such as territorial,
confessional and, as mentioned already above,
language differences among the population. The
formation of a new Swiss federal state took part in
1848, the strong federalism still ensures nowadays
that the cantons are largely autonomous and that
regional particularities are protected. Concerning
the system of minority protection in Switzerland,
Volker underlined that the cantons do not
correspond to linguistic and religious areas; nevertheless they are the entity of reference for
the minority. In Switzerland there is no official mechanism to protect minority issues in the
cantons, but Volker pointed out that there are some “unofficial” rules of facilitating the allday-life
of the different communities, for instance according to the ability of speaking the
various languages of the country on an official level and an unofficial quota-system in all
national bodies. As another reason for the peaceful coexistence of people in Switzerland,
Volker mentioned the different patterns of identity, for instance the Swiss identity is not
mainly based on language criteria, but group membership and alliances are rather formed
issue-based, on a political level. Volker additionally pointed out that there is also a certain
feeling of pride among the Swiss population about
their reputation as being “multicultural” and there is
also the theory that the economic integration and the
wealth in Switzerland are more attractive to the Swiss
inhabitants than sticking to a certain identity, linked
to language for example. As future problems, Volker
mentioned the integration of foreigners and the
neglection of the emancipation of women in the
integration discussions.
Margarita Brovina, law student at Prishtina university: Minority protection in Kosovo
Margarita lectured about „Minority protection by
legislation in Kosovo“. Margarita presented
international norms and standards that are applied in
Kosovo, she also talked about the “Constitutional
Framework for Provisional Self-Government” and
laws approved by the Assembly of Kosovo.
Furthermore Margarita underlined the importance of
the “Anti-Discrimination Law” in her country and she
compared minority rights in Kosovo and Macedonia. As an important factor for the minority
protection in Kosovo, Magdalena mentioned the “Committee for Community Rights and
Interest for Return” in the Kosovar Assembly, which holds hearings on proposed laws, in
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