Minority council
The Minority Council represents the interests of the four autochthonous (≈ old-established, indigenous) national minorities and ethnic groups in Germany ( Danes from South Schleswig , Sorbs from Lusatia , Frisians from North and East Friesland and Roma ) vis-à-vis the Federal Government and the Bundestag . The Minority Council is supported in its daily work by the Minority Secretariat in Berlin.
Organization and tasks
As representatives of the Sydslesvigsk Forening , the Sydslesvigsk Vælgerforening (for the Danish Südschleswiger), the Domowina (for the Sorbs), the Frisian Council and the Seelter Buundes (for the Frisians) and the Central Council of German Sinta and Roma , the council members as well as two other members. The Minority Council holds at least two consultations per year. The chairmanship of the Minority Council changes annually on a rotation principle between the four ethnic groups.
The minority council's central task is to promote the flow of information between minorities. Among other things, he advocates a separate article for the recognized national minorities in the Basic Law (based on the model of the state constitutions of Schleswig-Holstein and Brandenburg ), monitors the obligations entered into by the federal government with regard to the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter of Regional - or minority languages , participates in legislative initiatives with reference to minority politics and generally supports the existence and development of the language and culture of the autochthonous minorities in Germany. In addition, he takes care of the confirmation and securing of financial resources by the federal government and actively pursues regional policy.
The Minority Secretariat is a member of the Advisory Board of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency and is a permanent guest in the Advisory Committees of the Ministry of the Interior for the Danish, Frisian and Sorbian minorities as well as for the Low German language group. At the European level, the Minority Council / Minority Secretariat work together with the Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN).
history
Minority Council and Minority Secretariat were founded in 2005. They are in the tradition of the Association of National Minorities in Germany from the period between 1924 and 1939. The Minority Secretariat initially had its office in the house of the former Reich grain depot on Fehrbelliner Platz in Berlin , since June 2015 it has been located in the Berlin Bundeshaus , where, In addition to other authorities and users, there is also a branch of the Federal Ministry of the Interior .
A house for the minorities is being planned, it will be built in Flensburg.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federal Minister de Maizière in conversation with the Minority Council. Federal Ministry of the Interior, November 27, 2014, accessed on April 19, 2015 .
- ↑ Minority Council. Activity. Minority Secretariat, accessed April 19, 2015 .
- ↑ The minority secretariat has moved. Minority Secretariat, June 11, 2015, accessed October 24, 2015 .
- ↑ Koschyk meets minority council. Federal Ministry of the Interior, February 27, 2015, accessed on April 19, 2015 .