Kairat Abdrakhmanov, High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM), is on a visit to South Tyrol. Today (14/11/22) morning he met with the President of Eurac Research as well as representatives of the Institutes for Minority Rights, Comparative Federalism and Applied Linguistics and the Center for Autonomy Experience of Eurac Research. He expressed his gratitude for the good cooperation. He said that the OSCE was very happy to draw on the work of the research institutes and he looked forward to a good partnership in the future. After the meeting, the High Commissioner met with Governor Kompatscher.
Kairat Abdrakhmanov has been High Commissioner for National Minorities since 4/12/2020. The office was created at the CSCE follow-up meeting in Helsinki in 1992. The HCNM office is located in Den Haag and has about 10 employees. The office is tasked with identifying and resolving tensions that could endanger peace, stability or good relations among OSCE participating states and that develop from ethnic tensions. The mandate of the High Commissioner on National Minorities (HCNM) allows for early intervention, i.e., preventive diplomacy. The most important working principles of the High Commissioner are confidentiality (or quiet diplomacy) and impartiality. Both principles are intended to help build and strengthen trust between the parties and the HCNM. The HCNM has several tools at its disposal to carry out its task. These include gathering and receiving information, visits to participating states, engaging experts, report writing, and early warning.
