RAINBOW was fortunate to participate in Minority Rights Group's latest training seminar and would like to acknowledge the important contributions made by both Minority Rights Group and the OSCE in the area of human rights.

We respectfully ask the Government of Greece to expedite the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minoritites which it signed a few years ago. The Convention has languished in the Greek parliament since that time and remains unratified to this day.

Below is an outline of the material covered at the seminar:

Overview of the International System for Minority Rights Protection and Focus on the Content of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

Process Orientation Introduction to Council of Europe: Overall structure; relevant instruments and procedures; enforcement mechanisms (ECHR, ECRI).

Overview of International System for the Protection of Minority Rights.

Application of International Minority Rights Instruments at the Domestic Level.

Monitoring Mechanism of FCNM, and NGO Opportunities for Input. Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities - Analysis of the Monitoring Mechanism.

The Role of NGOs - Ideas for using Council of Europe mechanisms to address specific minority rights problems.

How to prepare effective materials for consideration by international bodies monitoring compliance with international human rights instruments.

Developing an Advocacy Campaign Strategy.