Group rights, collective goods, and the problem of cross-border minority protection

Abstract

This article argues that there are both practical and conceptual reasons for relaxing the prevailing state-centric frameworks for minority protection in the global arena. The article discusses two example cases: the indigenous Sami and the Roma travellers. It draws on analyses of the kinds of rights protected by the key international minority rights documents, and the kinds of goods these rights provide access to. The article argues that the cross-border nature of certain minorities poses specific challenges to the prevailing system of distributing responsibilities for protecting minorities across individual states, each of which has territorially limited obligations. It concludes by paving the way towards a more cosmopolitan institutional approach to cross-border minority protections.