E/CN.4/2000/16/Add.1 page 28 right to set up their own self-governing bodies.. “Minority self-governments”, as they are referred to, are legitimate elected bodies which represent the whole minority population of a given settlement. They are entitled to cooperate with the local authorities and to receive annual State subsidies. They have the right to decide their own structure and the way they operate. They have the right to establish and run cultural and educational establishments such as schools, museums and theatres. Local minority self-governments have the right of veto whenever local authorities wish to adopt decrees on cultural, educational or language issues concerning the minority. They also have a say in the appointment of directors of minority institutions. National minority governments operate as negotiating partners for the Government and are consulted when legislation is being drafted at the national, county and capital-city levels. 124. In the opinion of several people who spoke to the Special Rapporteur, this system does not really give power to minorities, as their representatives are not elected exclusively by minorities but by the whole of the electorate in the place where the minority self-government is to be established. Moreover, the supposed right of veto of the self-government representative is in fact only an advisory opinion, as the representative is not entitled to vote in the town council, despite being elected in the same way as the other representatives. Furthermore, the funds set aside for autonomous governments in the national budget are not allocated to them directly, but are managed by the town council in the town where the autonomous government is established, and the council selects the projects concerning minorities. When the majority of the population in the town belong to a specific minority there is probably no risk of bias, but when the population is of a more diverse nature one might expect difficulties in obtaining finance for the projects of a minority that does not pledge allegiance to the majority population, as in the case of a number of autonomous Roma governments. 125. Representatives of Roma associations have pointed out that the Government’s political strategy has consisted of co-opting a single Roma organization, Longo Drom, which controls all the autonomous Roma governments, and sidelining other organizations demanding real autonomy for the Roma. Other institutions ensure the protection of minorities in general and the Roma in particular. In June 1995, the Hungarian Parliament appointed a commissioner for law-enforcement. As mentioned above, the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities is competent to examine complaints about racial discrimination by State bodies and to make recommendations or refer cases to the courts. 126. In 1990, the Government set up the National and Ethnic Minorities Office in the Ministry of Justice (by decree No. 34/1990 (VIII.30)) to prepare government decisions on minority policy and to develop its programme for minority policy. The National and Ethnic Minorities Office continuously evaluates the enforcement of the rights of national and ethnic minorities and the situation of minorities. It also prepares analyses as a basis for government decisions in connection with minorities. The National and Ethnic Minorities Office coordinates the implementation of government measures concerning minorities and has a department for Roma affairs. In order to coordinate action by ministries involved in implementing medium-term measures to improve the situation of the Roma, an inter-ministerial committee has been set up: it includes representatives of the ministries of the interior, foreign affairs, finance, education, cultural heritage, defence, the economy, justice, health, and youth and sports.