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OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities
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OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

The High Commissioner on National Minorities is an instrument of conflict prevention at the earliest possible stage. 

Our work

Overview

As an instrument of conflict prevention at the earliest possible stage, the High Commissioner provides early warning and early action in regard to tensions involving national minority issues.

Integration with respect for diversity.

Most societies are diverse. When diversity is not well managed, the cohesion of society may come under pressure. Ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious issues, or any combination thereof, can lead to tensions and even conflict, threatening peace and security in the OSCE participating States. In response to this challenge, the participating States established the post of a High Commissioner on National Minorities.

The High Commissioner offers advice and support to assist participating States in shaping policy and legislation that ensures minorities’ rights are respected and they are actively supported as integral members of their society.

Featured

Council of Europe and OSCE National Minority Standards graphic with blue circles.
External Link

Collection of Council of Europe and OSCE national minority standards

Online resource collecting all key documents and texts on national minority standards from the OSCE and the Council of Europe.

https//www.coe.int
Story

2024 Max van der Stoel Award Winner – Natur og Ungdom, Norway

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Book

Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Social and Economic Life

The inclusion of national minorities in economic and social life is a crucial element of democracy, particularly in multi-ethnic societies, as it fosters unity and breaks down societal divisions. The High Commissioner on National Minorities’ Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Social and Economic Life offer practical tools to facilitate social and economic participation at different levels and in various settings.
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News and activities

Current announcements, press releases, media advisories and other updates

All news

Max van der Stoel Award

Every two years, the office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities organizes the Max van der Stoel Award.

Leadership

The High Commissioner on National Minorities

Christophe Kamp

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp, 4 February 2025, The Hague.

Speeches

The High Commissioner addresses many audiences to talk about his work and assessment of issues related to his mandate.

Recent statements

All statements To the Permanent Council

In focus

Memories of our work at the office of the High Commissioner on National Minorities in recent years

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  • Gytis Blaževičius and Elisabeth Regine Myrland of Natur og Ungdom, during the 11th Max van der Stoel Award ceremony, 6 November 2024, The Hague.

    © OSCE/Arnaud Roelofsz Photo details

  • Youth from diverse communities, including Sàmi youth, demand wind power turbines on the Fosen Peninsula are removed, in line with a Supreme Court ruling from 2021 that the turbines violate the human rights of the Sàmi, during protests organized by Natur og Ungdom, Oslo, February and March 2023.

    © OSCE/Natur og Ungdom Photo details

  • OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp at a meeting with Myroslav Biletskyi, Head of Zakarpattia Oblast Military Administration, Uzhhorod, 10 April 2025.

    © OSCE Photo details

  • Group of people smiling, standing on a staircase with ornate railings in a well-lit interior.

    Participants at an expert roundtable discussion on how emerging technologies are shaping policing practices in multi-ethnic societies, jointly organized by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the OSCE Transnational Threats Department’s Strategic Police Matters Unit (TNTD/SPMU), The Hague, 15 May 2025.

    © OSCE Photo details

  • OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp (left) is shown around a pilot school for multilingual education, #8 “Gorkiy”, by Director Barchinai Aidarova and Co-ordinator of Multilingual Education Venera Akybaeva in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, 21 May 2025.

    © OSCE/Edin Elgsaether Photo details

  • Seven people sitting in a row, engaged in conversation, wearing business attire in a meeting room.

    Participants at a training event on “Strengthening the rights and participation of national communities in the Chernivtsi region”, organized by the office of the HCNM in co-operation with Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience, in Chernivtsi, 25 and 26 September 2025.

    © OSCE Photo details

  • Group of people celebrating on a sunny beach, holding certificates with a scenic lake and mountains in the background.

    Participants celebrate at the end of the Regional Expert School on Multilingual and Multicultural Education for Integration and Sustainable Development, which took place from 1 to 5 July 2019 in Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan. The Expert School is organized by the office of the HCNM, in co-operation with the Education Ministry of Kyrgyzstan and UNICEF Kyrgyzstan, and with the support of the OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek.

    © OSCE/Michael Angermann Photo details

  • Moldova’s civil servants discuss steps to implement the National Strategy for the Consolidation of Interethnic Relations 2017-2027 at an induction training course organized by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Bureau for Interethnic Relations of the Republic of Moldova, Vadul lui Vodă, Moldova, 24 May 2018.

    © OSCE Photo details

  • Students participate in the first Olympiad on multilingualism in Central Asia that specifically focuses on the mother tongues of the region, State and official languages, as well as foreign languages, Kazakhstan, 4 to 6 May 2017. Organized by Karaganda State University, in co-operation with the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities under its Central Asia Education Programme, the Olympiad attracted 102 students from 25 universities in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

    © OSCE/Igor Khlebnikov Photo details

  • A person in a coat beside an award certificate with blue border and signatures.

    The Max van der Stoel Award is presented every two years. The 2014 award went to the non-governmental organization Spravedlivost from Kyrgyzstan, The Hague, 2 October 2014.

    © OSCE/Arnaud Roelofsz Photo details

  • A painting by 13 year-old Nastya Ibragimova from Kyzyl-Kiya in southern Kyrgyzstan entered in an HCNM-supported drawing competition to promote multicultural education launched in Osh, April 2008.

    © OSCE Photo details

Videos

Short documentary videos explaining our work.

Animations

Recommendations and Guidelines in a snapshot.

Learn about some of the Recommendations and Guidelines in less than two minutes.

Resources

All resources

Contact

Logo of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

Tournooiveld 4
2511 CX The Hague
Netherlands

Phone: +31 70 312 55 00
Email: hcnm@osce.org

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