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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 12h

Explore Selma Selman’s selected works and an interview on her Flowers of Life exhibition, where she explains how trauma and pain can be transformed into resistance and how art serves as a tool for communication.

📖 www.selmanselma.com/activism

📹 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxSI...

📷 Selma Selman
#art

Black and white photo of a woman with long black hair in a white dress wearing gloves covered in paint in a vehicle looking towards camera

Black and white photo of a woman with long black hair in a white dress wearing gloves covered in paint in a vehicle looking and positioned towards camera with an open mouth showing teeth

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 12h

Explore the work of Selma Selman, a Roma performance artist and painter from Bosnia who “challenges stereotypes and critiques oppressive systems.” Read about her inspirations, feminism, and how she highlights Roma histories.

📖 secondaryarchive.org/artists/selm...

📖 artreview.com/how-selma-se...

Selma Selman - Secondary Archive

The work of artist and activist Selma Selman, born in 1991 into a Roma community in Bihać, Bosnia, draws heavily from her personal experiences to inform her internationally-recognised artistic practic...

secondaryarchive.org

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 12h

See how lack of change has hindered Bosnia and Herzegovina’s EU accession, as noted in the 2019 Commission Opinion (point 4f), requiring “equality and non-discrimination of citizens, notably by addressing the Sejdić-Finci ECtHR case law.”

📖 enlargement.ec.europa.eu/document/dow...

📷 Shutterstock

Image of two flags, one of Bosnia and Herzegovina which is a blue rectangle with a yellow triangle in the middle with 9 white stars across the triangles base and the European Union flag which is blue with a circle of stars blowing in the wind

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 12h

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

Painting of a woman looking forward with two hands framing her face. An eye peeks from above a green material

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 13h

See the 2009 ruling declaring the Bosnian constitution discriminatory, violating Article 1 of Protocol No. 12 and Article 14 with Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 due to the applicants’ ineligibility to run for the Presidency and House of Peoples.

📖 hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22item...

📷 MRG
#bosnia #law

Man looking towards camera with gray hair wearing a suit and blue tie.

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 13h

“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

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 3d

@madelinepotter.bsky.social

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 3d

@madelinepotter.bsky.social

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 5d

Tomoka Sato’s article examines China’s language assimilation policy and its use of ‘unity,’ drawing parallels between Inner Mongolia, Tibet, and Xinjiang, and showing how Mongolian-language education has been eroded despite official claims of equality.

📖 doi.org/10.1080/0306...

📷 Byamba-Ochir

People standing in a crowd in front of a building holding white signs with black handwritten text on them

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 5d

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

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 7d

@coe.int

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 7d

Days before the decision, the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe issued an ‘urgent opinion’that warns that the amendment may conflict with Slovakia’s obligations under the Treaty on European Union and the European Convention on Human Rights.

📖 www.coe.int/en/web/venic...

📷 ta3 Denis Dufala

Image of a grey building with the Slovak coat of arms and text saying "NÁRODNÁ RADA SLOVENSKEJ REPUBLIKY", taken from a lower angle.

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 7d

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

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 12d

Susan Divald (2021) shows how the Hungarian minority in Slovakia uses commemoration and strategic wording (“self-governance” vs “autonomy”) to sustain identity post-EU accession—a helpful context for the gaps flagged by the Council of Europe.

Read article:

📖 doi.org/10.1177/0888...

#Slovakia

Pie chart of Slovakia's ethnic compostion (2023) by Encyclopædia Britannica.

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 12d

@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

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 15d

Read Landau's (2017) analysis - 'The quest for legitimacy in independent Kosovo' - examining how Kosovo's "state of communities" and minority-rights strategy created internal legitimacy tensions, a must-read for context to the parliament freeze.

Open access article here:

📖 doi.org/10.1080/0090...

Map of the ethinic breakdown of Kosovo (2008) by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · 15d

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

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Sep 4

As Norway’s elections may empower the far right, Margaretha A. van Es offers a timely analysis of how Norwegian Muslims resist binary definitions of ‘moderate’ or ‘radical’ by using public protests to challenge stereotypes and assert belonging.

Open access article:

📖 doi.org/10.1080/0048...

A young Muslim woman takes a photo of the flowers in tribute to the victims of Anders Breivik, in Oslo, July 2011. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Sep 4

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

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Sep 2

@apnews.com’s Anita Snow reviews Madeline Potter’s The Roma: A Travelling History (2025), “a fascinating look at a marginalized and misunderstood group.” Potter blends memoir and research to trace Romani persecution, resilience and culture across Europe.

Read more:

📖 apnews.com/article/roma...

Book cover of The Roma: A Travelling History (2025) alongside a portrait of the author, Madeline Potter. (Photo source: Topping & Company Booksellers)

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Sep 2

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

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Aug 29

Baird et al. explore who is considered Indigenous in Northern Thailand, highlighting Lua, Khon Muang, Hmong, and Lisu perspectives, offering context for the Ethnic Protection Bill.

Open-access article below:

📖 www.researchgate.net/publication/...

📷 Thomson Reuters Foundation

#IndigenousRights

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Aug 29

Thailand’s Indigenous peoples, long criminalized for protecting forests, have won legal recognition under the new Ethnic Protection Bill. This represents a milestone for cultural and land rights, offering a legal pathway to safeguard communities and their environment. @thediplomat.com

📖 Read more:

We Are Not the Enemy of the Forest: Thailand’s Indigenous People Win Legal Recognition

The recently passed Ethnic Protection Bill is imperfect. But it does mark a turning point for Thailand’s Indigenous peoples.

thediplomat.com

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Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Aug 25

#IndigenousRights #Sustainability #Politics #Reform #HumanRights #Policy #Environmentalism

Minority Rights @minorityrightseu.bsky.social · Aug 25

Kenrick et al. show that securing community tenure for the Ogiek of Mount Elgon is essential for sustainable conservation. Their study indicates that collective land rights safeguard forests better than eviction-driven models.

Read for policy insight:

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

📷 ILC

Members of the Ogiek nation in the Mau Forest in Kenya. Photo: Jason Taylor/ILC.

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