Defining “Minority”: Debates around Framing Strategies at the UN Forum on Minority Issues

Compared to other vulnerable groups engaged in global governance, minority groups who advocate for ethnic, national, and/or linguistic minorities have had only moderate success in securing an international minority rights regime. International protection of minority rights continues to face obstacles in light of uneven recognition at the UN. Therefore, it is important to understand how minority representatives engage with global governance at the UN to claim their rights and promote international cooperation. The UN Forum on Minority Issues offers an important space for minority representatives and advocates to interact with state and international organizations, report violations, and share good practices. The low status of minority rights is often linked to the lack of a working definition of who or what constitutes a minority under international law. I explore the extent to which the Forum has been a space for minority groups to contend with the lack of a working definition for minority and frame the concept of minority in new ways. Using a database from the Tom Lantos Institute, I analyze some of the debates around the concept of minority reflected in the discourses of UN Special Rapporteur statements, forum reports, and organizational statements made at the Forum. In addition to discussions over the scope of the concept of minority, there is contention over the term “minorities” itself, its application, as well as whether the term itself is belittling and prejudiced. I argue that attention to how actors use the Forum to frame and interpret the definition of minority will reveal opportunities and challenges for minority groups in global governance.