Read the full text in French (pdf).

Abstract

In the discussion about the protection of minorities in Eastern Europe, measures of positive discrimination are frequently recommended, such as a separate educational system and minority representation in parliament and administration. However, as this article tries to prove, such measures lead to a destruction of multiethnic societies and linguistic segregation, thus giving up chances for an integration of minorities. The result is an increase of interethnic tensions instead of their solution. The study recommends to give up the search for new collective rights and to implement the general prohibition of discrimination in international documents and in the European Convention on Human Rights.

Sabine Riedel is a Research Fellow at the German Institute for International Affairs and Security (SWP, Berlin).
[email protected]
Translation from German: Isabelle Bonnefond.