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High Commissioner on National Minorities

About

The post of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities was established in 1992 to identify and seek early resolution of ethnic tensions that might endanger peace, stability or friendly relations between OSCE participating States.

Press releases

OSCE national minorities Commissioner, Latvian Naturalization Board to hold conference on citizenship

A newly naturalized citizen receives her passport in Jurmala, Latvia. (Latvian Naturalization Board)

THE HAGUE, 19 November 2008 - A conference organized by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Naturalization Board of the Republic of Latvia on the institution of citizenship and its development and perspectives in the Baltic...

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Features

OSCE Minorities Commissioner seeks stable solution to plight of Meskhetians

Mamuka Khutsishvili (l) and Osman Mehriev-Kuradze are ethnic Meshketians who have returned to the Samtskhe-Javakheti region, Georgia, 9 July 2008. The OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities is working to facilitate the return of the Meshketians. (OSCE/Pavlo Byalyk)

Abkhazia and South Ossetia continue to be at the centre of international attention. Another issue in Georgia, which the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities is focusing on, is the return of Meskhetians deported by Stalin to their homeland.

OSCE High Commissioner helps build young friendships through multicultural education in Kyrgyzstan

Girls in national costumes have fun at the award ceremony for 'The Colours of Friendship' drawing competition held by the HCNM-supported Centre for Multilingual and Multicultural Education, Osh, Kyrgyzstan, 1 June 2008. (OSCE/Dildora Khamidova)

The HCNM is helping to bring children and teachers from the country's various ethnic groups together to deepen their appreciation of each other's languages and cultures.

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OSCE High Commissioner Knut Vollebaek (l), Netherlands Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen (c) and Netherlands Permanent Representative to the OSCE Ida van Veldhuizen (r), at a reception to mark the HCNM's 15th anniversary, The Hague, 11 November 2008. (OSCE/Eric Gourlan)

OSCE High Commissioner Knut Vollebaek (l), Netherlands Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen (c) and Netherlands Permanent Representative to the OSCE Ida van Veldhuizen (r), at a reception to mark the HCNM's 15th anniversary, The Hague, 11 November 2008. (OSCE/Eric Gourlan)

DOCUMENT: Speech by High Commissioner Vollebaek on the on the occasion of the HCNM's 15th anniversary

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Documents

"The Power of Partnership: Police and Minorities in Crimea," opening address by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebaek

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Conference "Modernizing Police and Promoting Integration: Challenges for Multi-ethnic Societies," Simferopil, Ukraine, 6 November 2008

"Integration with Respect for Diversity: A Prerequisite for a Nation's Progress," Opening address by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebaek

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Conference on Ukrainian Ethnic Policy organized by the State Committee on Nationalities and Religion, Kyiv, Ukraine, 5 November 2008