Permanent Mission of Romania on Item IV Thank you very much Madam Chair. My delegation would like to provide some examples of practices it has undertaken to the principals of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National Minorities. Romania along with certain other countries in the region has given legal affect to the Declaration. It has concluded political agreements with Hungary and Ukraine and doing so it made a commitment along with those countries to implement legal norms that are enshrined in the documents of the United Nations as well as those of the OSCE and the Council of Europe regarding the protection of minorities. In addition, the preamble to the agreement between Romania and Serbia on the protection of minorities mentions that the contracting parties must commit to the protecting the identity of those belonging to minorities according to the principles of the Declaration. Another practice in our country is to create conditions to ensure the participation of representatives of minorities in public life. Since 1990, Romanian legislation stipulates that organizations of citizens belonging to minorities, national minorities should be represented in parliament if they reach the 10% of the votes required of the election of a member of parliament. This provision ensures the ongoing presence since 1990 of representatives of 18 national minorities in the country's parliament. Those minorities therefore will be able make contribution to essential issues, such as the adoption of the constitution and the legislation regarding the rights of persons belonging to minorities. In addition, the electoral legislation allows organizations representing citizens belonging to minorities to present candidates for local elections. Thus the participation of minorities is ensured in on the national and the local level. Thank you.