The European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) is a

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

based in

Flensburg Flensburg (; Danish, Low Saxon: ''Flensborg''; North Frisian: ''Flansborj''; South Jutlandic: ''Flensborre'') is an independent town (''kreisfreie Stadt'') in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, that conducts research into minority-majority relations in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. ECMI is a non-partisan and interdisciplinary institution. It is a non-profit, independent foundation, registered according to German Civil Law. ECMI was established in 1996 by the governments of

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, Germany and

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

. The Centre is governed by a board composed of nine members: three from Denmark, three from Germany, one representative from the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...

, one from the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

and one from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. The institute's first director was Stefan Troebst, now Professor of East European Cultural Studies at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

. His successor Professor Marc Weller led the Centre from 1999 until 2009. Today, he holds the Chair of International Law and International Constitutional Studies at the University of Cambridge. Professor Tove Malloy managed the institution from 2009 until 2019. In 2019, the Executive Board of the European Centre for Minority Issues has named Professor Vello Pettai, as the new Director of the ECMI. Professor Pettai will take up his new position as ECMI Director on 1 March 2020. The Centre employs a core staff and also hosts visiting

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s and visiting research associates. The Centre organizes its activities around three principal themes. It is concerned with the evaluation and further development of universal, regional, bilateral and national standards that may assist in consolidating democratic governance on the basis of ethnic diversity and human rights. In this context, ECMI is also particularly interested in the emerging convergence of standards between EU members and applicant states. A second area of involvement relates to implementation procedures and mechanisms for these diverse standards and the study of their effectiveness. At times, ECMI has been invited to consider standards implementation and majority-minority relations in particular states in cooperation with the government of that state and local groups.

Publications

Over the years,the European Centre for Minority Issues has produced a number of Monographs, Reports, Working Papers and Issue Briefs,as well as the peer reviewed online

open access journal Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

, Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe (JEMIE), in addition to co-editorship (with EURAC Bozen) of the flagship publication European Yearbook of Minority Issues. The goal of this publication effort is to increase the awareness and dissemination of topics on minority issues, as well as to encourage further research in this field.

References

External links

Home page
ECMI Kosovo * http://www.ecmikosovo.org ECMI Caucasus * http://www.ecmicaucasus.org JEMIE * http://www.ecmi.de/publications/jemie {{authority control Human rights organisations based in Germany Minority rights Intergovernmental human rights organizations Political research institutes

Publications

See also

References

External links