A/HRC/10/11/Add.3
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89. Further, persons belonging to minority groups also enjoy all other civil, political,
economic, social and cultural rights, including the rights to non-discrimination and
equality before the law. But full protection of those rights is not a substitute for protection
of their minority rights.
90. The government should retreat from the dispute over whether there is a Macedonian
minority or a Turkish minority and place its full focus on protecting the rights to
self-identification, freedom of expression and freedom of association of those communities.
The Greek government should comply with the judgments of the European Court on
Human Rights that associations should be allowed to use the words Macedonian or Turkish
in their names and to freely express their ethnic identities. Those associations denied in the
past must be given official registration promptly. Their further rights to minority
protections must be respected as elaborated in the Declaration on Minorities and the core
international human rights treaties.
91. The government should guarantee the right to personal security and freedom from
intimidation or discriminatory actions by private or public actors on the grounds of the
exercise of their right to self-identification.
92. The government is commended for the positive practices that it has adopted with
respect to improving the quality of education available for the Muslim minority in Western
Thrace, including in minority schools and the guarantee that 0.5% of university entrants a quota which entered into force in 1996 - will be reserved for students from the Muslim
minority.
93. Those efforts should be strengthened by providing for bi-lingual instruction in the
pre-school level, which is now mandatory nationally; by guaranteeing that the quality of
educational outcomes for those students who choose to go to the minority schools is
comparable to graduates from the non-minority schools; ensuring that the teaching staff in
the minority schools have the same training and qualifications as teachers in the
non-minority schools and that the University of Athens special intervention program to
upgrade the minority schools in Western Thrace gets sufficient funding.
94. The government should quickly implement its program of positive measures to
ensure that 0.5% of all government jobs are filled by persons belonging to the Muslim
minority. A similar program of positive measures should also be put in place with respect
to other under-represented groups.
95. The appointment by government of religious officials, such as Muftis, infringes on the
right of persons belonging to the Muslim minority to effectively participate in the
decision-making processes that affect their daily lives. It is also an infringement on freedom
of religion. On the other hand, it is also not an option to impose Shari’a Law in a fashion
that violates the right to equality of women guaranteed in the constitution and under
international law. Religious leaders should be chosen by their religious communities, but
must be restricted to religious duties that do not infringe fundamental rights.