Volume IV, Issue II (April 2006) - Columbus School of Law

service, or sometimes 239 special financial loans, are established to enable them to catch up withother communities, the disparities between them and others increase. The lack of financialresources is a problem for the functioning of the newly established Special State Committee onMinorities tasked with making recommendations to the government with respect to the promotionof the rights of minorities in all fields of life, composed of one member of the three officiallyrecognized national and the two linguistic minorities (Vlach and Roma). 240Chapter 4-The Macedonian minority in Greece 2414.1 Legal framework for the protection of minority rightsOn the international level, Greece has accepted many international instruments which are relevantfor minority rights .However, it has still not made a declaration on Article 14 of the UNConvention on the Elimination of All forms of Racial Discrimination., which allows theCommittee for the Elimination of Discrimination to consider individual communications.Furthermore, it has signed but not yet ratified the Framework Convention for the Protection ofNational Minorities, and in addition the authorities have not signified an intention to sign andratify the UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education or the European Charter forRegional and Minority Languages. 242 In this context, it is important to emphasize that the relationbetween national and international law are regulated by part three of the Constitution of Greece(Organization and Functions of the State). 243 Thus, Article 28, paragraph 1, stipulates thatinternational conventions and generally recognized rules of international law, when ratified forman integral part of and take precedence over national legislation.The national framework is naturally based upon the set of provisions in the Constitutionadopted on June 11th, 1975, in which individual and social rights are regulated within the parttwo. Thus, article 4(1) of the Greek Constitution provides with a basic equality clause that allGreeks are equal before the law. 244 Furthermore, the constitutional provisions regulate that allpersons have the right to freely develop their personality and participate in the public life's aslong as they do not infringe the right of the others. 245 The principle of equal treatment. isguaranteed, by providing that all the persons living in Greece enjoy full protection of life andliberty, irrespective of their nationality, race or language and of religious or political beliefs, andthat exceptions are permitted only in cases provided by international law. 246Further articles, which may be of a relevance to minorities residing in Greece, are article 11 and12, which guarantee the right to peaceful assembly, and the right to form non-profit associations,in compliance with law, respectively. Freedom of religion is guaranteed in article 13, which reads239 Yash Ghai, PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND MINORITIES, (London, Minority Rights GroupInternational, 2003)240 Third Report on Albania, ECRI, 2005, available at http://www.coe.int/T/E/Human_Rights/Ecri/1-ECRI/2-Country-by-country_approach/Albania/Albania_CBC_3.asp#P75_4025241 Due to reasons explained below, Greece refers to the minority as "Slavophone Greeks" or"Slavo-Macedonians", I shall simply call them Macedonian minority242 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance, Third Report on Greece, available athttp://www.coe.int/t/E/human%5Frights/ecri/1%2DECRI/2%2DCountry%2Dby%2DCountry%5Fapproach/Greece/Greece_CBC_3.asp#P103_11509243 Greek Constitution, available at the website of the Greek Ministry of Justice,http://www.ministryofjustice.gr/eu2003/constitution.pdf244 Id245 Article 5(1), Greek Constitution 1991246 Article 5(2) Greek Constitution 199147