A/HRC/10/11/Add.3 page 6 Commission on Human Rights 9. Law 2667/1998 established the National Commission for Human Rights as a statutory national human rights institution (NCHR), having consultative status with the government on human rights issue. The NCHR is generally considered to carry out its functions in conformity with the Paris Principles relating to independent functioning. The NCHR’s substantive competences include: study of human rights issues raised by the government, NCHR members or non-governmental organizations; submission of recommendations and proposals, elaboration of studies, submission of reports and opinions for legislative, administrative or other measures for human rights protection; development of initiatives for the sensitization of public opinion on human rights; and the cultivation of respect for human rights in the national educational system. III. RELIGION, LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND NATIONAL IDENTITY 10. During the ancient Greek and Hellenistic periods, the Hellenic territories in the region and beyond were vast. Conquered territories became subject to strong Greek influence (Hellenization) for centuries until the gradual decline of the Empire under subsequent Roman and, after the Byzantine period, Ottoman empires. When Greece declared independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1829, its territory was only about one-third of the size it is today. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire and regional conflicts including the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, shaped the territory and borders of modern Greece and created a legacy of diversity, despite periods of significant population exchange. The historical ebb and flow of Empires and the modern emergence of newly independent nation states in the Balkans struggling for territories and national identities, brought about ongoing disputes over borders, some of which continue today. A. The religious minority: Muslims in Western Thrace 11. War between Greece and Turkey between 1919 and 1922 ended with negotiation of the 1923 Peace Treaty of Lausanne under which Greece and Turkey conducted a population exchange. Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey, with the exception of those in Istanbul (Constantinople), Gökçeada (Imbros) and Bozcaada (Tenedos), were resettled in Greece. Muslims in Greece, apart from those in Western Thrace, were resettled in Turkey. According to Greek government sources, some 86,000 Muslims remained in Thrace, 39,000 of Turkish origin, 35,000 Pomaks (Slav-speaking Muslims), and 12,000 Roma. 12. Section III of the Treaty of Lausanne relates to the protection of minorities and establishes obligations for both Turkey and Greece for the protection of “non-Moslem minorities in Turkey and “the Moslem minority” in Greece. The “Moslem minority” is granted certain protections with respect to the practice of their religion and to education in their own language. The government of Greece continues to rely on the Treaty of Lausanne as the primary basis for its policies toward the Muslim minority in Western Thrace. Since the Treaty references only a Muslim minority, that is the only officially recognized minority in Greece. The government notes that, in addition to the Treaty of Lausanne, members of the minority are beneficiaries of numerous nation-wide programs including those on gender equality, equal access to education and economic development.