Human Rights Committee Tolerance Madame Chair, Honorable delegates, my name is [inaudible], I am from the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria, which today fights for the basic recognition of its existence. Once officially recognized as a minority in Bulgaria, it enjoyed some rights, later we were proclaimed as non-existent, persecuted as traitors, and assimilated under the communist regime. Today in democratic Bulgaria, our very existence remains denied, a policy established by two parliamentary declarations, and one decision of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Bulgaria. This resulted in 200 court decisions, interpreting every claim that the Macedonian minority exists as a threat against the nation, state, and security. Because of this, there is no registered Macedonian minority party or organization, regardless of 14 judgements in the European Court of Human Rights against Bulgaria. Our very existence is breaking the official narrative and is met in media and society with hate speech, painting Macedonians as national traitors, foreign agents, and enemies, moral degenerates, and retards. Such speech is normalized and never punished. All this excludes the minority from social and political life. It cannot represent itself, nor does some other party advocate for the Macedonians. Macedonians today have zero minority rights in Bulgaria, and the state rejects any attempt at dialogue with them, despite all recommendations of human rights institutions. Because the European Union has left minority rights at the mercy of the national states, it has the effect of [inaudible] European blessing for this policy of denial, assimilation, and discrimination towards one minority inside the European Union. The policy created a conflict with Macedonia by blocking their Euro integration, endangering regional security. It contributes to creation of a billion Euro corruption industry with Bulgarian citizenships. This policy against Macedonians today is the last totalitarian, communist policy in the European Union. Thank you.