Hungary as an ethnically multi-coloured country is conscious of the fact that peaceful co-existence of national and ethnic minorities with the majority population is an important element of regional and international peace and security. Consequently, the Act on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities declares that the Republic of Hungary treats the right to national and ethnic identity as a universal human right. These rights are neither a gift from the majority nor the privilege of the minority, but the right to be different, which is based on the respect for the freedom of the individual and is a key ingredient for social harmony. We are firmly convinced that preserving, fostering, strengthening and passing on the minority identity is an unalienable right of minorities both at the individual and at the community level. The Republic of Hungary recognises the mother tongues of minorities, and reckons that education in these languages would significantly contribute to community cohesion. Therefore, Hungary believes that the right to maintain the minority identity can only be fully realised if persons belonging to minorities acquire a proper knowledge of their mother tongue during the educational process. The Act on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities – by establishing a system of minority self-governments, a certain type of local cultural autonomy – introduced a fairly new institutional solution into the Hungarian legal system. According to the provisions of the Act, minority self-governments have the right to express their opinion on questions related to different aspects of minority education. Moreover, they have veto powers at local level concerning the content of minority education. The Public Education Act regulates the functioning of the National Minority Commission, which, besides being the professional advisory body of the Minister of Education in matters of minority education, also has veto powers in this area. Minority self-governments are essential factors in the development of local minority policies and are able to articulate and to represent the educational interests of the given group. The national minority self-governments and the National Minority Commission, besides exercising their right to veto and expressing their opinions, have also become genuine professional factors in promoting minority education. The Republic of Hungary is firmly convinced that the right to education must be guaranteed to everyone, regardless of his or her national or ethnic origin, religion or mother tongue. We consider the implementation of this right to be a moral obligation of governments and not just a question of budgetary resources. Being a long-term social investment, a high standard minority education serves the political, economic and security interests of both minority and majority populations. Thank you for your attention.