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Minority Rights
@minorityrightseu.bsky.social
Sharing developments and academic commentary on (national, ethnic, religious, indigenous) minorities and equality law, with special focus on Europe.
Set up as part of MINOTEE: https://tinyurl.com/y8d7u8ud. Not reflecting official institutional positions.
Once nomadic, the Hmong minority settled in Vietnam over 300 years ago. Today, ~1.39 million people keep their heritage alive through weaving, silverwork, and colorful festivals that light up the highlands.
Dive deeper into their world in this feature by Nhân Dân: special.nhandan.vn/hmong-ethnic...
Hmong ethnic group
The Hmong ethnic group, which migrated into Vietnam a long time ago, is one of the ethnic groups with a large population in Vietnam.
special.nhandan.vn
November 24, 2025 at 10:02 AM
“Society makes us invisible because they know they owe us a historical debt and have deprived us of many opportunities.”

In Ecuador, Afro communities are still fighting to be seen in art, education, and public life. Their struggle moves beyond visibility and into unresolved colonial injustices.
‘Society makes us invisible’: Black Ecuadorians fight to defend their culture
Afro-Guayaquileños mostly live in the impoverished belts of Guayaquil and have been made to believe their customs are ‘the worst’, say activists
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:59 PM
In 2023, 45% of people of African descent in the EU experienced racial discrimination in the past 5 years. Only 9% reported the incident. Jobs, housing, and education remain key areas. This report is a reminder that there is still much work to do to achieve equality.

fra.europa.eu/en/publicati...
Being Black in the EU – Experiences of people of African descent
fra.europa.eu
November 20, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Nearly 1 in 2 Muslims in the EU (47%) report they’ve experienced racism or discrimination in the past 5 years. 

Most victims are women wearing religious clothing, job‑seekers, and those born in the EU.

This report shows a sharp rise since 2016.

Read more: fra.europa.eu/en/publicati...
Being Muslim in the EU - Experiences of Muslims
fra.europa.eu
November 19, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Jaguar” by Camila Berrio is a photographic journey across three territories that’s aimed to share the voices of local ethnic minorities. Camila’s work let her “witness how land & language are passed down like sacred knowledge”.

Explore it at: https:// www.vogue.com/article/jaguar-by-camila-barrio
‘Jaguar’ by Camila Berrio
From Vietnam to the Colombian Sierra Nevada and the Caribbean island of Isla Fuerte, Barrio portrays the communities living in these territories, preserving their ecosystems and cultures.
www.vogue.com
November 17, 2025 at 10:06 AM
Islands in a sea of oppression. 🇭🇺

In Hungary, LGBTQ+ artists are working under increasing restrictions: from constitutional bans on gender recognition to cultural institutions that shy away from queer themes.
Yet in Budapest, a small but resilient community is using art to push back.

Read here:
Queer Budapest: Hungarian artists on uniting the LGBTQ+ scene as islands in an ocean of oppression
Amid rising homophobic rhetoric, Hungary’s LGBTQ+ artists are forging the country’s queer art scene
www.new-east-archive.org
November 2, 2025 at 2:06 PM
“Must have Slavic appearance.” - a phrase still found in Russian job ads, even state tenders. 🇷🇺

A reminder of who belongs and who doesn’t. For minorities and migrants, exclusion starts long before the interview. When discrimination is printed in contracts, it becomes the system itself.

Read here:
Ethnic discrimination in Russia is often written right into government contracts
Russian organizations, both public and private, often impose discriminatory requirements on contractors, a new post from RFE/RL’s Russian investigative unit, Systema, highlights. Many official tender ...
meduza.io
November 1, 2025 at 12:10 PM
2025 EU Agency for Fundamental Rights report shows intersex people face serious risks: 15%suffered physical/sexual assault, 74%harassment, 61%discrimination, 39% experienced conversion practices, and 57% underwent medical interventions without consent.

Full report: fra.europa.eu/en/publicati...
Being intersex in the EU
fra.europa.eu
October 31, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Unequal treatment and gender stereotypes persist, and women and girls from national minorities face intersectional discrimination. @coe.int highlights challenges: gaps in gender data, violence, unequal access to education, and underrepresentation in public life.

🌐 rm.coe.int/prems-128125...
October 30, 2025 at 9:57 AM
In Japan, people of color experience everyday discrimination in transportation, workplaces, and other public spaces.

Read Imi Lo’s article titled “Visible Minorities in Japan – the Overlooked Struggle” to learn more about the topic: www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) Visible Minorities in Japan- the Overlooked Struggle
PDF | In Japan, individuals who stand out from the majority, especially those with darker skin, experience notable racism in their everyday experiences.... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...
www.researchgate.net
October 29, 2025 at 11:21 AM
In the recent post, we highlighted the impacts and needs of preserving a minority language, as it is a major contributor to the community’s history and culture.

Discover the study of minority and minoritized languages within the European Union at: www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etud...
October 27, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Croatia is often seen as an EU success story, yet Serb and Roma minorities still face persistent barriers. 🇭🇷

The gap between rights on paper and reality shows that EU membership doesn’t automatically ensure equality.

Read more:
UN Decries ‘Structural Discrimination’ Facing Serbs and Roma in Croatia
The Roma community in Croatia complains of ghettoisation and segregation in schools, while Serbs still face discrimination in employment three decades after the Croatian war.
balkaninsight.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:30 PM
In parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croat and Bosniak children often attend the same school building, but enter through different doors, follow separate schedules, and rarely meet.

Generations growing up side by side, yet apart. 🇧🇦

Read more here:
When Coexistence Becomes Parallel Existence: “Two Schools under One Roof” | Balkan Diskurs
What began as a temporary arrangement, “two schools under one roof” has now become an enduring example of segregation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with profound implications for long-term peace and…
balkandiskurs.com
October 22, 2025 at 5:57 PM
In The Global Meanings of Indigeneity, Mathias Risse shows how Indigenous worldviews help us rethink our relationship with the Earth.

Long-term ties to the land foster unique local knowledge rooted in reciprocity, care, and connection with nature.

Read more here👇

#ClimateAction #Sustainability
The Global Meanings of Indigeneity, and What to Learn from them For Our Ecological Crisis: Reflections on Indigenous Peoples Day 2025
The views expressed below are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights or Harvard Kennedy School. These perspectives have been presented to enc...
www.hks.harvard.edu
October 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The preservation of minority languages in an increasingly globalized world is a major challenge. With the disappearance of a language, the
community’s cultural expression also starts to fade.

📖 Learn
more about the impacts and preservation strategies here: medium.com/@RetalhosMAG...
October 20, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Russia’s Arctic Indigenous peoples face the highest per capita losses in the war in Ukraine, often recruited disproportionately due to targeted campaigns, poverty, and systemic exclusion. Their communities risk disappearing within a generation.

📖 blogs.lse.ac.uk/crp/2025/08/...

📸Heiner Kubny
October 18, 2025 at 8:56 AM
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos attended a meeting of the Council of Public Associations of National Minorities of Ukraine to discuss implementing the new “Law on National Minorities” in the context of European integration. Read more below.

#europe #eu #ukraine #minority #minorities
EU Enlargement Commissioner meets with the Council of National Minorities to discuss Ukraine’s EU Integration path - Council of Europe Office in Ukraine - www.coe.int
Kyiv, Ukraine 7 October 2025
www.coe.int
October 10, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Almir’s poems reveal the daily prejudice Roma face in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stemming from political under-representation, inadequate language policies, and failure to implement the Sejdić-Finci ruling, hindering equality and EU accession.

📖 minorityrights.org/bosnia-roma/

🎨 Selma Selman
#bosnia
October 8, 2025 at 11:52 AM
“That Sejdić guy – he’s not fighting just for himself. He’s fighting for all of us. Even for you, and you weren’t even born when this started.” (Human Rights Watch)

📖 minorityrights.org/bosnia-roma/

#minority #minorityrights #bosnia #sejdic #academicsky #law #humanrights #roma
Bosnia, Roma and empty paragraphs - Minority Rights Group
As long as young people like Almir in Bosnia and Herzegovina can write poems about being invisible but cannot even dream of holding the highest offices, this country will not join the European Union. ...
minorityrights.org
October 8, 2025 at 11:10 AM
China’s draft law raises concerns that it masks assimilation as unity, targeting religious and ethnic minorities. Human Rights Watch @humanrightswatch.bsky.social warns that such claims have previously justified repression of language rights and the persecution of Tibetans and Uyghurs.

#minority
China: Draft ‘Ethnic Unity’ Law Tightens Ideological Control
A newly proposed law in China would provide a broad legal framework to justify existing repression and force assimilation of minority populations throughout the country and abroad.
www.hrw.org
October 3, 2025 at 10:01 AM
On September 26, the Slovak parliament approved a constitutional amendment that, alongside restrictions on adoptions and gender definitions, asserts the primacy of Slovak law over EU and international law,emphasizing sovereignty in national identity, potentially risking diversity in a broader sense.
Slovakia amends constitution to promote 'national identity'
Slovakia's laws will take precedence over EU legislation in matters concerning "national identity", including issues of family and gender, under a constitutional change approved by parliament on Friday.
www.reuters.com
October 1, 2025 at 10:15 AM
@coe.int report on Slovakia: “legislation continues to contain provisions that exclude, restrict or discourage the use of minority languages, particularly in the fields of the judiciary, administration, the media, and economic and social life.”

📖 Read more below:

#Slovakia #Politics #Minority
More work needed on minority-language education in Armenia and Slovakia
<p>Council of Europe issues two reports on regional and minority languages</p>
www.coe.int
September 26, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Kosovo’s parliament is frozen until Sept 30 after a constitutional court ruling tied to minority representation. What does this mean for governance and stability?

Read more and watch the video report by @tvpworld.bsky.social below:

#Kosovo #Governance #MinorityRights #PoliticalCrisis #Balkans
Kosovo court freezes parliament over minority representation dispute
Kosovo’s Constitutional Court has barred parliament from passing legislation or forming a government until September 30, after a challenge by the Belgrade-backed Serb List party. The decision follows ...
tvpworld.com
September 23, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Norway goes to the polls on September 8 amid rising far-right influence. As Islam becomes the country’s fastest-growing minority, Muslims fear mounting polarisation.

📖 Read Natalie Donback’s analysis of the upcoming election, parties, and minority impacts on @hyphenonline.com.

#Politics #Minority
Why the upcoming Norwegian election matters
When Norway votes in a new government on 8 September, the country’s growing Muslim minority fear the far right will make significant gains
hyphenonline.com
September 4, 2025 at 10:17 AM
Discover Romanian Romani author Madeline Potter’s excerpt from her newest book, The Roma: A Travelling History (2025), a moving reflection on Romani memory and identity challenging erasure and reclaiming the power of storytelling.

Read via @literaryhub.bsky.social:

#Roma #Amreading #Booksky
In From the Margins: On Letting the Roma Narrate Their Own Story
From a very young age I was drawn to the world of fiction. Every day my grandfather would walk me home from nursery and tell me a story as we walked along the lifeless streets. I wish I could remem…
lithub.com
September 2, 2025 at 9:48 AM