Minorities, Protection Of

Abstract

In almost every state of the world live people whose ethnic, linguistic, or religious identity is different from the majority population. Throughout history, differences in the ethnic, racial, religious or national identity of people have been used by governments and other political actors as pretexts for discrimination and violence, including genocide. The need for the protection of minorities within the territory of a state derived from the separation of nations and states. The League of Nations applied a system of protection of minorities in situations, where the principle of one nation, one state could or should not apply. The legal provisions regarding the protection of minorities could be divided into the right to non-discrimination and special rights for persons belonging to minorities. The implementation of the protection of minorities by the United Nations aims primarily at the development of effective national institutions on the basis of precedent, experience and models. Keywords: genocide; League of Nations; protection of minorities; United Nations