The Protection of national minorities is a core issue for the

Council of Europe, and one of the major achievements in this field is

the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

The entry into force of the Framework Convention on 1 February

1998 was indeed an event of universal stature, for it is the first ever

legally binding multilateral instrument devoted to the protection of

national minorities in general. Its importance is widely acknowledged,

and the number of ratifications has grown rapidly.

The Aim of this collection is to provide all those interested in the

protection of national minorities a user-friendly compilation of the

basic texts concerning the Framework Convention. In addition to the

Framework Convention and its explanatory memorandum, the

collection contains texts pertaining to the monitoring mechanism in

general and the Advisory Committee in particular. It further provides

the state of signatures and ratifications as well as declarations and

reservations.