Open AccessMinority rights in world politics
Author(s) -
Corina Rebegea
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
politikon
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1583-3984
pISSN - 2414-6633
DOI - 10.22151/politikon.14.1.5
Subject(s) - sovereignty , minority rights , autonomy , human rights , political science , politics , citizenship , territorial integrity , context (archaeology) , law , international human rights law , individualism , international community , law and economics , sociology , paleontology , biology
Minority rights are a very sensitive issue for the international community in the context of the recognition and protection afforded to human rights. As the only internationally recognized rights-holders are the states, the recognition of minority groups as rights-holders would challenge the established principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and statehood. Consequently, minority rights are constructed through international and regional documents from an individualistic perspective in order to project a certain notion of citizenship, sovereignty, nationhood or autonomy. International and regional documents deal with the rights of persons belonging to minorities, rather than with minorities as such, a concept still in search of a clear-cut definition.