The Mirage of Minority Rights
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Publisher Founding: March 1, 2014
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Journal Founding: August 2, 2012
Frequency: Three (3) Times Per Year
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 12
Issue Numbering: 3
Section: B
Theme Type: Idea
Theme Premise: “Outliers and Outsiders”
Theme Part: 31
Formal Sub-Theme: None
Individual Publication Date: May 1, 2024
Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2024
Author(s): Sam Vaknin.
Author(s) Bio: Sam Vaknin, Ph.D. is a former economic advisor to governments (Nigeria, Sierra Leone, North Macedonia), served as the editor in chief of “Global Politician” and as a columnist in various print and international media including “Central Europe Review” and United Press International (UPI). He taught psychology and finance in various academic institutions in several countries (http://www.narcissistic-abuse.com/cv.html).
Word Count: 343
Image Credit: Sam Vaknin.
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN): 2369-6885
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citations, after the publication.*
Keywords: accusations, autonomy, bilateral, culture, discrimination, equality, genocide, identity, institutions, international law, minorities, minority, protections, rights, suppression.
The Mirage of Minority Rights
The President of North Macedonia accused Bulgaria of mistreating its Macedonian minority. Putin leveled the same accusation at Ukraine with regards to its Russian-speaking population. Both Bulgaria and Ukraine reject the allegations vehemently. To this very day, many in Israel deny that Palestinians exist.
But what is a minority and whence its rights?
A minority is a group of people who self-identify and self-determine as a minority on grounds of ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, or national identity and are possibly discriminated against owing to being a minority.
The rights of minorities are enshrined in numerous bilateral and multilateral treaties and in international law, including in UN declarations. In some cases, minorities are explicitly recognized and identified in state constitutions and thus are protected from persecution or endowed with autonomy and special privileges.
These protections include: the right to not be exterminated or forcibly displaced; the right to not be coercively assimilated and to exercise the language and culture common to the members of the minority; non-discrimination and equality before the law, the institutions, and in the workplace.
Members of the minorities should be allowed and encouraged to participate in the public affairs, politics, culture, education, society, and economy of the host polity. They should be represented in all the institutions, be consulted, and contribute to actual decision-making.
The courts of the host country should protect the minorities from any attempt to infringe on their rights and freedoms and enforce these when and where applicable.
This is the noble theory. Reality is much shabbier. By far the main thorn is the inability to agree on an objective, neutral definition of a minority.
Throughout history and to this very day, majorities or powerful populations have refused to recognize others as disenfranchised minorities with a common culture and history.
This discord often devolved into armed conflict or outright suppression and even genocide.
The solution is to establish an international court for minorities with the power to confer a minority status on applicants, having reviewed the history of the group and having consulted experts from neutral territories.
Bibliography
None
Footnotes
None
Citations
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition): Vaknin S. The Mirage of Minority Rights. May 2024; 12(3). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/vaknin-minority-mirage
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition): Vaknin, S. (2024, May 1). The Mirage of Minority Rights. In-Sight Publishing. 12(3).
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT): VAKNIN, S. The Mirage of Minority Rights. In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, Fort Langley, v. 12, n. 3, 2024.
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition): Vaknin, Sam. 2024. “The Mirage of Minority Rights.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (Spring). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/vaknin-minority-mirage.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition): Vaknin, S “The Mirage of Minority Rights.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal 12, no. 3 (May 2024).http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/vaknin-minority-mirage.
Harvard: Vaknin, S. (2024) ‘The Mirage of Minority Rights’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, 12(3). <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/vaknin-minority-mirage>.
Harvard (Australian): Vaknin, S 2024, ‘The Mirage of Minority Rights’, In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vol. 12, no. 3, <http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/vaknin-minority-mirage>.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition): Vaknin, Sam. “The Mirage of Minority Rights.” In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal, vo.12, no. 3, 2024, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/vaknin-minority-mirage.
Vancouver/ICMJE: Sam V. The Mirage of Minority Rights [Internet]. 2024 May; 12(3). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/vaknin-minority-mirage.
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