Europe and National Minorities: Perspectives on Self-Determination

FUNDACIÓ RAFAEL CAMPALANS / FRIEDRICH EBERT Stiftung CONVENCIÓ FEDERALISTA Barcelona, 18 de septiembre de 2015 Europa federal y “sujeto político”: el papel de las minorías nacionales Alberto LÓPEZ BASAGUREN Catedrático de Derecho Constitucional Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU)

“Catalunya és una nació. (…) Una nació que no ha renunciatmaialsseusdretsinherentscom a poble, ni tampoc al dret a l’autodeterminació, i que sempre ha anhelat les màximes cotes d’autogovern”

Tratados de Paz (Versalles, 1919): ¿principio de las nacionalidades?

Los Tratados de Minorías

Nación y homogeneidad • “Thanks to war, occupation, boundary adjustments, expulsions and genocide, almost everybody now lived in their own country, among their own people”

Derecho de autodeterminación: Derecho Internacional • Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (UN GA Resolution 1514 (XV) 14.12.1960) • Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (UN GA, Resolution 2625 (XXV) 24.10.1970)

¿Derecho de autodeterminación? “(…) the international law right to self-determination only generates, at best, a right to external self-determination in situations of former colonies; where a people is oppressed, as for example under foreign military occupation; or where a definable group is denied meaningful access to government to pursue their political, economic, social and cultural development”

“In all three situations, the people in question are entitled to a right to external self-determination because they have been denied the ability to ¿Derecho de autodeterminación? exert internally their right to self-determination. Such exceptional circumstances are manifestly inapplicable to Quebec under existing conditions”

Consejo de Europa – Asamblea Parlamentaria The concept of “nation” (13.12.2005) “… a rethought and modernised concept of nation…” “…difficult, nottosayimpossible, toarriveto a commondefinition of the concept of nation…”

Consejo de Europa – Asamblea Parlamentaria The concept of “nation” (13.12.2005) “… groups of peoplewho are at thesame time citizens of thesamestateorcivicnation, butwhobelongtoor are part of different cultural nations. As comparedwiththebiggestgroup of citizenshavingthesameethno- cultural background, thosegroup, who are relativelysmaller, constitute and are callednationalminorities”

Consejo de Europa – Asamblea Parlamentaria The concept of “nation” (13.12.2005) “Thesenationalminoritiesorcommunities(…) whichrepresent a constitutivepart and a co-foundingentity of thenation-state of whichtheirmembers are subjects as citizens, enjoytheirrights in orderto preserve, express and fostertheirnationalidentity”

Consejo de Europa – Asamblea Parlamentaria The concept of “nation” (13.12.2005) “… necessarytostrengthenrecognition of everyEuropeancitizen’s links withhisidentity, culture, traditions and history, toallowany individual to define himself as member of a cultural ‘nation’, irrespective of his country of citizenshiporthecivic nationwhose he belongs as a citizen, and more specifically, tosatisfythegrowingaspirations of minoritieswhichhave a heightenedsense of belongingto a certain cultural nation”

Consejo de Europa – Asamblea Parlamentaria The concept of “nation” (13.12.2005) “Whatisimportant, fromboth a political and a legal standpoint, istoencourage a more tolerantapproachtotheissue of relationbetweentheState and nationalminorities, culminating in genuineacceptance of every individual’srighttobelongtothenation he feels he belongsto, whether in terms of citizenshiporlanguage, culture and traditions”

Consejo de Europa • Convenio Marco para la Protección de las Minorías Nacionales(1995) • Ratificado por España: 1995 • Entrada en vigor: 1998

… protect within their respective territories the existence of national minorities; … the upheavals of European history have shown that the protection of national minorities is essential to stability, democratic security and peace…; … a pluralistic and genuinely democratic society should not only respect the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious identity of each person belonging to a national minority, but also create appropriate conditions enabling them to express, preserve and develop this identity;

… the principles to be respected and the obligations which flow from them, in order to ensure, in the member States (…) the effective protection of national minorities and of the rights and freedoms of persons belonging to those minorities, within the rule of law, respecting the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of states;

Article 3 1. Every person belonging to a national minority shall have the right freely to choose to be treated or not to be treated as such and no disadvantage shall result from this choice or from the exercise of the rights which are connected to that choice.

Article 5 1 … to promote the conditions necessary for persons belonging to national minorities to maintain and develop their culture, and to preserve the essential elements of their identity namely their religion, language, traditions and cultural heritage.

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Chamber of Regions CPR(25)2FINAL - 30 October 2013 Regions and territories with special status in Europe RESOLUTION 361 (2013) “…special regional autonomy status can be an effective counterbalance to secessionist tendencies (…) This will require the political will to pursue peaceful political dialogue to identify and negotiate suitable legal and constitutional solutions and develop satisfactory models of decentralised democratic governance for the regions concerned”

Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Chamber of Regions CPR(25)2FINAL - 30 October 2013 Regions and territories with special status in Europe RECOMMENDATION 346 (2013) “…much of the future of the European space, its future peaceful and prosperous development will depend on making greater progress in conflict prevention and resolution, which will require the political will to pursue peaceful political dialogue and to move forward on identifying and negotiating legal and constitutional solutions, to develop satisfactory models of decentralised democratic governance for regions with specific issues and identities”

Preámbulo: Proteger a todos los españoles y pueblos de España en el ejercicio de los derechos humanos, sus culturas y tradiciones, lenguas e instituciones.

Artículo 2. La Constitución se fundamenta en la indisoluble unidad de la Nación española, patria común e indivisible de todos los españoles, y reconoce y garantiza el derecho a la autonomía de las nacionalidades y regiones que la integran y la solidaridad entre todas ellas.

The Advisory Committee notes that Spain continues to view Roma as the only group to be protected under the Framework Convention. (…) has not been informed of specific demands from other groups whose culture, language and traditions are different to that of the majority, even though it considers that the Framework Convention may also benefit them (…) It encourages the authorities to make a determined effort to promote awareness of the Framework Conventionthroughoutthepopulation.

Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional 31/2010, de 28 de junio, sobre la reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de Cataluña “De la nación puede, en efecto, hablarse como una realidad cultural, histórica, lingüística, sociológica y hasta religiosa. Pero la nación que aquí importa es única y exclusivamente la nación en sentido jurídico-constitucional. Y en ese específico sentido la Constitución no conoce otra que la Nación española”

Sentencia del Tribunal Constitucional 31/2010, de 28 de junio, sobre la reforma del Estatuto de Autonomía de Cataluña “… ni pueden tampoco, al amparo de una polisemia por completo irrelevante en el contexto jurídico-constitucional que para este Tribunal es el único que debe atender, referir el término «nación» a otro sujeto que no sea el pueblo titular de la soberanía”

Giles DUCEPPE, Bloc québecois 22.11.2006 Cámara de los Comunes Parlamento Federal de Canadá • Motion: Que cette Chambre reconnaisse que les Québécoises et les Québécois forment une nation • “Nous allons demander aux élus de cette Chambre de voter sur une motion qui reconnaît la nation québécoise (…) Les nations ont des droits, dont celui d'orienter elles-mêmes leur développement”.

Stephen HARPER, 22.11.2006 Cámara de los Comunes Parlamento Federal de Canadá • “The true intention of the Bloc leader and the sovereignist camp is perfectly clear. It is not to recognize what the Québécois are, but what the sovereignists would like them to be. For the Bloc, this is not about Quebec as a nation; the National Assembly has already pronounced on that. This is about separation. To them, nation means separation”.

Lucienne ROBILLARD, 22.11.2006 Cámara de los Comunes Parlamento Federal de Canadá • “…tout ce que le Bloc québécois tente de faire, c'est de nous diviser (…) Au fond, encore une fois, en essayant de s'approprier ce débat, les bloquistes tentent de nous dire qu'ils sont les seuls à défendre les intérêts québécois. Pourquoi le Bloc et le Parti québécois essaient-ils de nous demander de choisir entre nos deux identités? (…) Pourquoi?”

Lucienne ROBILLARD, 22.11.2006 Cámara de los Comunes Parlamento Federal de Canadá • “…en tant que Québécoise, je suis très fière de voir que mes collègues parlementaires de partout au pays sont prêts à reconnaître la spécificité du Québec. Cela fait vraiment chaud au coeur à l'ensemble des Québécois et des Québécoises. ”

Stéphane DION, 27.11.2006 Cámara de los Comunes Parlamento Federal de Canadá • “ Comme d'habitude, ils [los jefesindependentistas] veulent jouer de la confusion des mots pour introduire la confusion dans les esprits”

Stéphane DION, 27.09.2006 Cámara de los Comunes Parlamento Federal de Canadá • “Cette motion ne réglera pas le problème de l'unité, et nous devons nous assurer qu'elle n'entraîne pas une détérioration de l'unité canadienne. J'implore tous ceux qui croient dans le Canada de ne pas accorder trop d'importance à ce genre de motion. Je ne crois pas que ce soit la meilleure façon de promouvoir notre pays. Ce n'est pas ce que je souhaite faire, mais (…) je dois réagir aujourd'hui à cette motion (…)"

Parliament of Canada House of Commons 27.11.2006 • “That this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada” • “Que cette Chambre reconnaisse que les Québécoises et les Québécois forment une nation au sein d'un Canada uni”

“És per aixó que, sensecapméseina que la democràcia, defensem el dret a decidir sense mes límit que el que marqui en cada moment el poble de Catalunya”

“Coherents a definir Catalunya com una nació i a situar la democràciacom un valor absolut, apostempel dret a decidir per assolirl’autogovern que el poble de Catalunya reclama i necessita per viuremillor”

“The argument that the Constitution may be legitimately circumvented by resort to a majority vote in a province-wide referendum is superficially persuasive, in large measure because it seems to Referéndum y principio democrático • appeal to some of the same principles that underlie the legitimacy of the Constitution itself, namely, democracy and self-government. (…)

“(...) However, closer analysis reveals that this argument is unsound, because it misunderstands the meaning of popular sovereignty Referéndum y principio democrático • and the essence of a constitutional democracy (par. 75)”

Thedemocratic vote, byhoweverstrong a majority, wouldhave no legal effectonitsown and couldnotpushasidetheprinciples of federalism and the rule of law, therights of individuals and minorities, orthe Referéndum y principio democrático operation of democracy in theotherprovincesor in Canada as a whole. DemocraticrightsundertheConstitutioncannotbedivorcedfromconstitutionalobligations.

"a functioning democracy requires a continuous process of discussion" (par. 68) • Reference re on the Secession of Quebec [1998] 2 SCR 217

“"Those who quite legitimately insist upon the importance of upholding the rule of law cannot at the same time be oblivious to the need to act in conformity with constitutional principles and values, and so do their part to contribute to the maintenance and promotion of an environment in which the rule of law may flourish." (par. 95)

“The Scottish referendum had shown the danger of ceding too much ground to your opponents. If you sit back and wait till the other lot have taken so much ground; then you’re on the back foot” he said. “You pay a heavy price.” Mr. Alistair DARLING, MP Leader of BetterTogether (3.11.2014)

“(…) if passion alone was not enough to realise independence, reason alone will not be enough to save the Union in the longer term. Referéndum sobre la independencia de Escocia • The idea of Union has to find its way back into Scots’ hearts – and that’s going to be a long journey. And there are big risks to be overcome”. • Adam TOMKINS: “Oneyearon (…nearly)”, in Notes from North Britain. OnLaw, Politics and the British Constitution(Blog)

¿Es más difícil lograr la reforma de la Constitución española que la independencia de Cataluña?

“Catalunya no ha produit, ni per ara pot produir, cap altretipus de politic quel’agitador, propens a la protesta com el mateixpobleidestre en aprofitarqualsevolmotiud’ordre sentimental per a fer por al adversarimentreduri la foguerada” Amadeu HURTADO(1875-1950)

“… la historia politica de Catalunyas’hadescabdellatsempre amb aquestmateixpatrói al mateixritme (…) Peròaquestavegadasemblavaquepelfet de tenir el Govern d’unaCatalunyaautònomas’haviad’anar amb méscompte…”

“… materialmente el separatismorequiere, comoobrahumana, comoproblema a resolver y como plan a ejecutar, un esfuerzoinfinitamente mayor que el exigido por el intento de influir en la marcha del Estado español y modificarlo”

“El separatistacreequeesimposibleentenderse con el resto de los españoles, y pararemediarestasituación, propone unacosamásdifíciltodavía, quees el desentenderseviolentamente de ellos.” Agustí CALVET, Gaziel(1887-1964)

Europe and National Minorities: Perspectives on Self-Determination