Levente Salat

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Forum Minority Research Institute,
Somorja Effective Participation of Minorities in
Decision-Making in Matters Affecting Them
Conceptual questions, international documents,
case studies Minority participation Romanian
case study House of the Hungarian Culture,
Budapest May 15-16, 2008
Levente Salat Ethnocultural Diversity Resource
Center, Cluj, Romania www.edrc.ro
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The structure of the presentation

• 1. The context
• 2. Theoretical premises
• 3. The Romanian minority regime
• 4. Assessment of the Romanian minority regime
• 5. Conclusions

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• The Context

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1.1. Ethnic structure of Romania in 2002

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1.2. The main ethnic communities of the country
in 2002

• The 87 ethnic groups in Europe form 337
  communities officially recognized by the state on
  the territory of which they live.
• The largest number of recognized communities is
  to be found in Russia (45), followed by Ukraine
  (23) and Romania (20).
• In Romania, recognition has two aspects of the
  census and political representation in the
  Romanian Parliament.
• In 2002, the total population of Romania was
  21,680,974 out which 10.53 belonged to one of
  the following minorities

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1.3. The ethnodemographic evolution in
Transylvania 1918-2002

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1.4. The ethnodemographic evolution in Cluj
1910-2002

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1.5. Types of minority communities in Romania
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1.6. Post-1989 political performance of
Romania Freedom House, 2007
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• Theoretical premises

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2.1. Theoretical premises

• Types of ethnic politics
• Integrative demands focus on the changed role of
  the group within existing institutions, the
  target is to expand policy outputs, without
  institutional change
• Particularistic demands for distinct treatment
  which yield institutional change necessary within
  the political entity (constitutional change,
  autonomy, federalism)
• Disintegrative the legitimacy of the
  multinational political entity is challenged by
  groups seeking external self-determination
• M. Keating, 1996

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2.2. Theoretical premises

• Aspects of representation
• Authorization the constituency is a cohesive
  group with a single will which can convey the
  representative a mandate, based on which the
  representative can act in the name of the
  represented
• Accountability the representative is expected to
  account for the policy outcomes of the
  representation
• Types of representation
• Interests whatever is necessary or desirable in
  order to realize the ends of the agent (material
  resources, cultural expression, political
  influence, economic decision-making, etc.)
• Opinions principles, values, priorities which
  condition the agents judgment on what policies
  should deliver
• Perspectives assumptions, experiences produced
  by structural social position, with which
  reasoning begins, rather than conclusions are
  drawn
• I. M. Young, 2000

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2.3. Theoretical premises

• Forms of representation
• Descriptive/substantive
• Descriptive, or mirror representation (large
  number of minority members in legislature)
• Substantive representation (role-call votes that
  address minority issues)
• Active/passive
• Passive representation (the descriptive aspect
  prevails, the effect of representation is
  ignored, representation is an end in itself)
• Active representation (purposeful action taken by
  the representative on behalf of those
  represented, on the bases of common values that
  result from common origin)
• H. Pitkin, 1967, K. J. Meier, 1993

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2.4. Theoretical premises

• Full and effective participation of minorities,
• as stipulated in Article 15 of the FCNM
• State construction
• the right of members of ethnic, religious and
  linguistic minorities to participate in the
  definition of the economic, social and political
  system of the State and the democratic process
• the way in which the state is constructed should
  not result in the disenfranchisement of minority
  communities
• Executive representation
• members of ethnic and national minorities should
  be able to exercise public functions at all
  levels of the State, in adequate numbers
• territorial and functional layering of the
  entitlements is necessary in territories or
  policy areas (culture, education, language,
  media) of special concern for the minorities
• Equal chances
• members of minority communities should enjoy the
  full range of cultural social and economic
  benefits of the State, both by public and private
  agencies.
• M. Weller, 2004

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2.5. Theoretical premises

• From the two aspects of representation, the
  authorization is usually stronger than the
  accountability checks
• When minority representation is mainly
  descriptive, the tendency is that there will be
  fewer total members of the legislative who
  support policy initiatives that the minority
  representatives promote
• The minority representation tends to become
  passive and representation remains an end in
  itself, without delivering the expected outcomes,
  especially in terms of participation in the state
  construction or in the executive.

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• The Romanian minority regime

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3.1. The Romanian minority regime

• International legal documents
• Relevant domestic legislation
• State institutions in charge with minority and
  interethnic issues

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3.2. International legal documents

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3.3. Domestic legal system general overview

• For the time being, Romania has an extensive,
  however, slightly incoherent legal system
  relevant to the situation of ethnic, religious
  and linguistic minorities.
• The Ethocultural Diversity Resource Center, in
  partnership with the Research Institute on Ethnic
  and National Minorities of the Hungarian Academy
  of Science has compiled a database containing 176
  legal documents including the Constitution,
  laws, governmental decisions, decrees,
  ordinances, etc with at least some relevance to
  the situation of ethnic minorities.
• The database is available at http//www.edrc.ro/pr
  ojects.jsp?project_id53

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3.4. Domestic legal system most import legal
instruments

• Legal instruments facilitating political
  participation
• Law on the elections for the Chamber of deputies
  and the Senate (29. 09. 2004)
• Law on the election of local administrative
  authorities (29. 03. 2004)
• Language rights
• Romanian Constitution (31. 10. 2003)
• Law on local public administration (23. 04. 2001)
• Law regarding the organization of the judiciary
  (28. 06. 2004)
• Law on the Status of Policemen (24. 06. 2002)
• Law on the Status of Civil Servants (republished
  22. 03. 2004)
• Educational rights
• Law on Education (23. 06. 1999 amended in 2003)
• Property restitution
• Law on the approval of the GD 112/1998 on the
  restitution of premises that belonged to the
  communities (organizations, religious cults) of
  national minorities in Romania (17. 04. 2002)
• Access to mass media
• Audiovisual Law (22. 07. 2002)
• Antidiscrimination
• Law on the approval of GD 137/2000 on preventing
  and punishing all forms of discrimination (31.
  01. 2002)
• Legal instruments aiming to improve the situation
  of Roma
• Decision on the approval of the Government
  Strategy for Improving the Conditions of Roma
  (16. 05. 2001)

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3.5. Domestic legal system consequences of the
laws facilitating political participation (2004
elections)

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3.6. Relevant institutions

• The Governmental Department for Inter-Ethnic
  Relations
• Created according to GD 13/2001
• Subordinated to the Prime Minister and
  coordinated by the General Secretariat of the
  Government
• Lead by a Secretary of State, includes
  under-secretariats in charge with Hungarian,
  German and Roma minorities
• Promotes and develops programs aiming at
  guaranteeing, preserving, expressing, ethnic,
  cultural, linguistic and religious identity of
  persons belonging to national minorities.
• Council of National Minorities
• An advisory body of the Government, functioning
  in accordance with GD 589/2001, coordinated by
  the Department for Inter-Ethnic Relations
• It comprises 19 member organizations,
  representing 20 national minorities
• Its main functions are to facilitate the contact
  between the Government and the organizations of
  national minorities, by forwarding proposals to
  the Government, and by channeling the state
  subsidies provided for minority organizations (in
  2004 its overall budget was 240 billion ROL,
  which equaled approximately to 7 million EUR).
• National Council for Combating Discrimination
• It carries out its activities on the basis of the
  GO 137/2000 regarding the prevention and
  sanctioning of all forms of discrimination, and
  GD 1194/2001 regarding the organization and
  functioning of the council
• Its activity is coordinated by a Steering Board,
  with 7 members nominated by the ministries with
  attribution in the filed and approved by the
  Prime Minister
• In 2003 it received 436 petitions, out of which
  283 were resolved, in 2004, 269 petitions were
  received, 189 resolved.
• National Agency for the Roma
• Created in 2005, on the basis of the Law on the
  approval of the EO of the Government 78/2004
• Coordinated by the General Secretariat of the
  Government
• It is in charge with coordinating, monitoring and
  evaluating the implementation of the Governments
  Strategy for Improving the Conditions of Roma.

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• Assessment of the Romanian
• minority regime

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4.1. General assessment of the Romanian minority
regime

• The Romanian minority regime provides different
  results for the three different types of
  minorities in Romania
• A successful accommodation for small minorities
  (below 62.000 members)
• Through political participation
• Education in mother tongue
• Cultural subsidies
• A comprehensive, though largely inefficient
  protective measures for the Roma community
• Antidiscrimination
• Positive discrimination in access to tertiary
  education
• Governmental strategy for the improvement of the
  condition of Roma
• Extensive political, educational and linguistic
  rights provided for the Hungarian minority, which
  fall short, however, as compared to the
  expectations of the members of the community
• Representation in the Parliament and local public
  administration
• Participation in the Government
• Extended primary and secondary education system,
  fair access to tertiary education
• Language rights in the public administration,
  judiciary, police
• State funded cultural institutions
• Access to mass media

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4.2. Assessment of the minority representation 1
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4.3. Assessment of the minority representation 2
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4.4. The paradox of ethnic politics

• The political organization of the Hungarian
  minority in Romania (UDMR/RMDSZ) has an
  outstanding record in the Romanian post-1989
  party system
• It is the most stable party in the Romanian
  Parliament
• It is the only political organizations which has
  been for three consecutive mandates on the side
  of the power
• 1996-2000 member of the governing coalition
• 2000-2004 member of the majority in the
  parliament
• 2004- member of the governing
  coalition
• In spite of this unique performance, the major
  political objectives of the Hungarian minority
  could not be achieved.

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• Conclusions

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Conclusion

• The more aspects and dimensions of representation
  we consider, the less evident is what counts for
  effective minority representation
• Romania offers an interesting example of full and
  effective minority representation which falls
  short, however, if efficiency is considered, too.