An Examination of Minority Groups and Human Rights Issues in Europe and Africa

The question of human rights in the next millennium and 50 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a serious issue in both national and international politics. This essay examines briefly the issues of minorities and human rights in Europe and Africa. It addresses some theories, and issues of individual and group rights in attempts to explain and highlight some of the complexities of the subject matter as they apply to the implementation of human rights instruments. This disquisition also draws its analysis from the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the African [Banjul] Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, inter alia. Finally, it concludes with general observations on minority human rights issues in Europe and Africa and alludes to some steps taken for ameliorating human rights violations.