Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities - Strasbourg, France, 27-30 May 2004 MINORITY RIGHTS GROUP INTERNATIONAL NGO Training on the Council of EuropeO~s Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities Strasbourg, France, 27-30 May 2004 Programme Description As part of ongoing work on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Minority Rights Group International is organising a Training on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.[1] The training is organised in cooperation with the FCNM Secretariat of the Directorate General of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and will be held in Strasbourg from 27th to 30th May 2004. The training is for minority based and interethnic human rights NGOs from countries whose state reports are due in 2004 only. The training is open to NGOs from Armenia, Austria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine, and United Kingdom. The training is also open to NGOs from Kosovo. The deadline for applications is Thursday, 25th March 2004. The objectives of the training will be to: - provide information on the content of the Framework Convention and its monitoring mechanism; - identify ways in which NGOs can best contribute to the monitoring of the implementation of the Convention, both at the domestic level and at the level of the Council of Europe; - provide opportunities for participating NGOs to make contact with other NGOs working on minority protection, Council of Europe staff, members of the treaty monitoring body, and their government representatives to the Council of Europe; and - develop follow-up activities, focusing on involvement in state reporting process, producing shadow reports, and related advocacy. The programme will include presentations, case studies, discussions, small group and individual work. It will include an overview of international instruments and mechanisms for minority protection, including in-depth consideration of the Framework Convention, its monitoring mechanism and opportunities for civil society to contribute. Methodologies will be participatory and the focus will be on practice. There will be task groups on the development of NGO advocacy strategies to contribute to effective monitoring of State compliance and drafting additional information/shadow reports. MRG will invite representatives of 25 NGOs from the target countries listed above. Participants will be selected on the basis of their organisationsO~ institutional capacity and commitment to raise awareness of minority rights and monitor implementation of international instruments, specifically the Framework Convention, and their own professional experience. Priority will be given to NGOs who: - prioritise advocacy for protection of minority rights (international experience is not needed, but experience and organisational commitment to working on minority protection at the domestic level is key) - are interested in producing shadow reports on the Framework Convention and being involved in the state reporting process. NGO representatives applying to the training have to be staff members of their organisations, and should have: - experience in advocacy work; - commitment to human and minority rights; - in-principle support from the management of their organisation to take forward work on monitoring the Framework Convention; - very good English language skills. Unfortunately, the budget does not allow for interpretation costs and therefore participants should have very good English language skills to be able to participate actively in discussions. MRG will aim for a mixture of people from different countries, at least 70% of whom will be from minority communities, and a gender balance. MRG will select participants on the basis of their application and the above organisational and professional selection criteria. MRG will not select more than one participant from any one organisation. The training is not open to organisations from which 2 or more persons have participated in MRGO~s Strasbourg FCNM training since 2000. Anyone not sure how many persons from their organisation have participated in MRGO~s previous FCNM trainings can contact MRG to double check. Costs of travel, accommodation, and subsistence will be covered by MRG for all selected applicants. The deadline for applications is Thursday, 25th March 2004. An application form is attached. For more information, please contact Saskia Chilcott on saskia.chilcott@mrgmail.org, tel +44.20.7422.4213, fax +44.20.7422.4201, or Magdalena Syposz on magdalena.syposz@mrgmail.org, tel +44.20.7422.4211. [1] For more information about Minority Rights Group International, please visit our website on www.minorityrights.org. MRGO~s work on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities is financially supported by the Council of Europe, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Swedish International Development Agency.