Minority Secretariat

Minority Council

Activities

The Minority Council of the four autochthonous national minorities of Germany deals with the fundamental matters related to the four autochthonous national minorities: the Danes, Frisians, German Sinti and Roma and the Lusatian Sorbs. It works for their promotion and protection and together the Council represents the interests of the four minorities vis-à-vis the Federal Government and the German Federal Parliament.

Apart from coordinating between the minorities and elaborating joint statements on topical issues, the Minority Council focuses on the following topics:

  • the adoption of an Article for the four recognised national minorities into the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany,
  • consideration and monitoring of the obligations of the Federal Republic in regard to the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages,
  • providing information about and being involved in legislative initiatives of the Federal Parliament that are related to minority-policy,
  • an active regional policy that ensures the survival of the minorities in their homeland,
  • guaranteeing and confirming the financial support to the minorities by the Federal Republic,
  • maintaining and developing the language and culture of the minorities and
  • promoting the flow of information among the minorities.

The Minority Council consists of the chairs and two other representatives of the autochthonous, national minorities of Germany:

The chairmanship of the Minority Council is arranged according to the principle of rotation, whereby each minority organisation provides a chair for a period of one year.

Regular meetings of the Minority Council take place at least twice each year.

The Minority Secretariat in Berlin supports the work of the Minority Council both in content and organisation.

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