A/50/514
English
Page 6
G.
Right of minorities to establish and maintain
their own associations
18. According to information provided by the Government of Cyprus, every person
has the constitutional right to freedom of association with others, including
the right to form and join trade unions. The Government of the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic pointed out that citizens enjoyed the rights of association
with others and of peaceful assembly if the relevant activities are not contrary
to existing laws and regulations. The Governments of the Czech Republic,
Morocco and Ukraine stated that 30 Romany civic associations and 4 Romany
organizations, 11 Tamazight associations and 237 ethno-cultural societies were
established in their respective countries.
H.
Equality before the law
19. The Government of Morocco pointed out that in accordance with article 5 of
the revised Constitution of 4 September 1992, all Moroccans are equal before the
law and no minority is subject to any form of discrimination.
I.
Mechanisms, procedure and other measures to promote and
protect the rights of persons belonging to minorities
20. The Government of Cyprus stated that it had introduced into its national
legislation the prohibition of acts amounting to incitement to discrimination,
hostility, hatred and violence on account of ethnic or racial origin or for
religious reasons. The Government of Spain pointed out that it has included a
new aggravating circumstance into the Criminal Code regarding offences against
persons and property where the act has been committed on racist, anti-Semitic or
other grounds relating to the ethnic or national origin, ideology, religion or
beliefs of the victim. The Czech Republic mentioned that education in
democracy, tolerance and human rights was added to the primary and secondary
school curricula. The Russian Federation is currently elaborating a draft law
on national-cultural autonomy in the Federation which would guarantee democratic
rights for Russian minorities irrespective of where they live.
J.
Commitments under international treaties and agreements
21. The Governments of Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany and Spain
have recently signed the Council of Europe framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities, thus clearly demonstrating their commitment
to the protection of national minorities in general (for further details about
the provisions of the framework Convention, see the section on the Council of
Europe below). In addition, the Russian Federation has signed a number of
treaties with other States, including the Declaration on the principles of
cooperation with the Republic of Hungary on guarantees for the rights of
national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. Spain has adopted the
Organization Act providing for the necessary measures, in accordance with
domestic law, to comply with the establishment of an international tribunal for
the purpose of prosecuting persons responsible for various violations of
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