The essays collected together in this volume address questions concerning the rights of minorities and show the extent to which policy constructs (especially in law) have begun to pay heed to the need to include minorities in different domestic settings across the globe. The essays are organized under six main headings: historical development; conceptual development; contemporary challenges; fundamental norms of minority protection; specific rights of minorities; and human rights and minority rights.

Joshua Castellino is Professor of Law and Head of the Law Department at Middlesex University, London, and Adjunct Professor of Law at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, Galway, Ireland. He has held visiting academic positions in Ireland, Spain, Hungary and Italy. He has authored five books in international law and human rights law, on a range of subjects including self-determination, title to territory and indigenous peoples rights. He regularly engages with multilateral organisations such as the United Nations and the Council of Europe and with Law Societies and NGOs in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, on issues of human rights advocacy and public international law.

Contents: Introduction; Part I Historical Development of Minority Rights Law: Historical background: international law moves from protection of particular groups to norms of a universal character, Patrick Thornberry; Minorities and the League of Nations in interwar Europe, Mark Mazower; The internationalization of minority rights, Will Kymlicka. Part II Conceptual Development of Minority Rights Law: The bases of minority identity, Philip Vuciri Ramaga; To bellow like a cow: women, ethnicity and the discourse of rights, Radhika Coomaraswamy; The idea of human rights as perceived in the Ottoman empire, Berdal Aral. Part III Contemporary Challenges of Minority Rights Law: The headscarf affair: the Conseil d'Etat on the role of religion and culture in French society, Elisa T. Beller; Tiptoeing through a constitutional minefield: the great Sharia controversy in Nigeria, Andrew Ubaka Iwobi; The new economic policy and interethnic relations in Malaysia, Jomo K.S. Part IV Fundamental Norms in the Protection of Minorities: Merit principles, Christopher McCrudden; Reversing discrimination, Sandra Fredman; Comprehensive examination of thematic issues relating to the elimination of racial discrimination: the concept and practice of affirmative action, Marc Bossyut. Part V Specific Rights of Minorities: The emerging right to democratic governance, Thomas M. Franck; Justice and reparations, Howard McGary Jr; Multiculturalism and minority rights: West and East, Will Kymlicka; Equality and non-discrimination: fundamental principles of minority language rights, Fernand de Varennes. Part VI Human Rights Law and Minority Rights Law: A critical evaluation of international human rights approaches to racism, Kevin Boyle and Anneliese Baldaccini; Reinforcing marginalized rights in an age of globalization: international mechanisms, non-state actors, and the struggle for peoples' rights in Africa, J. Oloka-Onyango; 'Righting', restructuring, and rejuvenating the postcolonial African state: the case for the establishment of an AU Special Commission on National Minorities, Obiora Chinedu Okafor; Minorities, poverty and the millennium development goals: assessing global issues, Gay McDougall; Name index.