The demand for legal assistance from national minorities will be driven in great part
by their knowledge of their rights, the law and the judiciary. Persons belonging to
national minorities should be offered opportunities to increase their awareness of
the law and skills to deal with their legal problems through education, information
and community-based organizing. Details about such services can be disseminated
(in minority languages) through targeted information campaigns, media outlets
used by national minorities and social media (where relevant). It can also be done
through community-based paralegals trained specifically to work with minority
communities and who can provide basic legal information to persons belonging to
national minorities in their own language. Lastly, national human rights institutions
can also assist minorities by offering legal aid and alternative dispute resolution
mechanisms (in a language they understand and preferably in their own language)
that can empower them to tackle their legal problems.
5.
The composition of courts, tribunals, prosecution offices, lawenforcement agencies, correctional services, enforcement agencies
(or bailiffs) and human rights institutions, should aim to reflect the
diversity of the population at all levels.
Ensuring that the population’s diversity is reflected in the judicial system and national
human rights institutions33 is a critical factor in building trust and relationships
between minority communities and these institutions, thereby contributing to
conflict prevention. The judicial system and, to a large extent, national human rights
institutions can be one of the most visible and positive manifestations of State
power if members of society feel confident enough to engage with these bodies.
In areas where tensions involving national minorities persist, persons belonging
to minority communities often do not take their complaints to law-enforcement
agencies, the judiciary or national human rights entities because they do not trust
them. They may even fear them, or see them as biased against their community or
lacking independence.
Increasing diversity in the judicial system and national human rights institutions at
all levels can help to address this lack of confidence on the part of minorities,
make justice more accessible to them, promote the integration of society through
participation in State institutions and build trust in the State. Diversity in the judiciary
33
See Note on Terminology, p.41.
The Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice and National Minorities
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