A case study on the protection of human rights : human rights and legal wrongs : the Roma in Europe

This thesis critically examines the implementation of international human rights standards through a study of the situation of Europe's Roma majority. The foundations of the human rights standards as they apply to minorities are considered from a theoretical perspective to be deficient. The need to respect the collective aspects of identity as well as the individual dimensions has been recognised by many theorists but has not been translated into human rights norms.;The consequences of the individualist emphasis are explored with respect to the rights of citizenship and education. The former suggests that a focus centred only on the individual can legitimise discriminatory treatment in the name of assimilation. When looking at the right to education it is apparent that the denial of minority culture and values in the education process has contributed to the lack of school achievement and educational disillusionment. Promising initiatives form the European Union place a greater emphasis on the need to support rather than diminish minority cultural values. An alternative approach stressing the importance of minority identity is considered by analysing the Hungarian system of minority self-government. The system, still in its infancy, recognises the collective interests of minority groups as well as the individual rights of group members.;In conclusion it is argued that the present emphasis on the individual does little to protect the rights of members of marginalised minority groups. This realisation does not necessarily entail the prioritisation of collective over individual rights. Rather, it is argued that collective and individual rights be viewed as supplemental and inter-dependent.