Treaty of Sèvres (Greece - Protection of Minorities)

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Territorial acquisitions of Greece

The Treaty of Sèvres with regard to the protection of minorities in Greece is an internal Entente treaty and was negotiated parallel to the negotiations with the Ottoman Empire on the treaty of the same name and signed on the same day, on August 10, 1920. The contracting parties are the United Kingdom , France , Italy and Japan on one side and Greece on the other. On July 24, 1923, the treaty was ratified in a revised additional protocol parallel to the negotiations with Turkey on the Lausanne Treaty. The revision brought this contract into line with the provisions of the Lausanne Treaty .

The treaty primarily extends the application of human and minority rights to the inhabitants of the newly joined territories, taking into account the many territorial connections to Greece since January 1, 1913.

In addition, the treaty replaces Greece's obligations to the other Entente powers with obligations to the League of Nations (predecessor of the UN ) and removes Greece's obligations to the other Entente powers that restrict the country's full sovereignty. The control and observation rights of France and the United Kingdom (including full control of the Ionian Islands ) are given to Greece. France and the United Kingdom renounce the control of the protection of religious freedom in Greece, since with this treaty this now comes under the full guarantee of the League of Nations.

The most important provisions made by the contract are:

  • Complete protection of the life and freedoms of all residents without differentiation according to ethnicity, language, religion, birth, nationality and the granting of religious freedom to all residents
  • Equality for all citizens before the law, freedom of occupation and the freedom to use their own mother tongue in public life
  • Right of all minorities to independently found and manage their own charitable, social and religious institutions as well as regulations regarding minority schools
  • Granting of Greek citizenship to the Turks , Bulgarians and Albanians in the territories annexed to Greece after January 1, 1913
  • Granting local autonomy to the Wallachians ( Aromanians ) on the Pindus in northern Greece in religious, charitable and educational matters
  • Regulate the affairs of Muslim citizens with regard to personal status and family law in accordance with Muslim customs and protect mosques, Muslim cemeteries, waqfs and other Muslim institutions
  • Regulations regarding the Sabbath of the Jews
  • Confirmation of the traditional freedoms and rights of the non-Greek monastic communities on Holy Mount Athos, as stipulated in Article 62 of the Berlin Treaty of 1878
  • Organizational questions regarding Adrianople (today: Edirne) These provisions are no longer applicable with the additional protocol of 1923, as Adrianople falls to Turkey with the Treaty of Lausanne
  • Trade and transit issues between Greece and the rest of the League of Nations

In contrast to the Treaty of Sèvres concluded with the Ottoman Empire , which was not fully implemented, this treaty with Greece is still in force in its revised form. During the Treaty of Lausanne in point of minority protection is based solely on religious affiliations, this contract is also based both on religious affiliations than on Ethnienzugehörigkeiten.

See also

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