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The term given to a number of special treaties, special chapters inserted in treaties, and declarations (sense 3) made shortly after the ending of the First World War, in which certain (chiefly central and east European) states undertook obligations in respect of their nationals belonging to racial, religious, and linguistic minorities, and which conferred on the League of Nations the right to engage in some protective measures in respect of the implementation of those obligations. The League set up a system of committees to examine petitions alleging breaches of the treaties, and gave publicity to those complaints which were deemed to be justified. The obligations had been more or less exacted from the states concerned, and with the passage of time were increasingly resented. For their part, the minorities often complained about the insufficiency of the protection. In the 1920s it is likely that the system helped to protect minorities against some graver forms of injustice. But with the subsequent decline of the League the system became increasingly irrelevant.
When the United Nations was established, no attempt was made to revive the system for the protection of minorities, this being virtually the only aspect of the League\'s work which found no reflection in the structure of the UN. In part this was because the Second World War did not result in the creation of new states, from which such undertakings could be demanded; in part because of the general unpopularity of restrictions being placed upon domestic jurisdiction. Moreover, on this last matter the new states which later emerged from the breakdown of colonialism were particularly sensitive. Nonetheless, the UN\'s increasing emphasis on the protection of human rights has helped to provide a little protection for some minorities. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has established the post of High Commissioner on National Minorities to identify and promote the resolution of ethnic tension which might endanger peace and stability. And in 1999 NATO went to great lengths to protect the Kosovan minority in Serbia. Minorities have not, therefore, been wholly forgotten. |
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