Transylvania - The Roots of Ethnic Conflict

87/B. 1946.
232/Be. res.
1946.

Paris, June 11th, 1946.
Budapest, July 2nd, 1946.

Your Excellency,
Sir,

In its Note No. 130/Be. res. --- 1946 dated May 8th, the Hungarian Government took the liberty of informing the principal Allied Powers of its views on the reconstruction of South-eastern Europe upon the three principles expressed in that document. On this occasion the Hungarian Government desires to stress the third of the said principles, which has as its object the removal of any factor which might produce friction in international affairs. Dealing with this problem, the Note of the Hungarian Government recalled that one of the objectives of the United Nations is to promote and encourage respect for human rights and freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion (Article 1 of the Charter). Similarly, my Government referred to Article 4 of the Charter, by which the United Nations bound themselves to see that human rights and fundamental freedoms are respected and honoured for all, without distinction as to race, sex language or religion, as was also expressed in the first Article.

According to paragraph b. of Article 13 of the Charter, it is within

the competence of the General Assembly of the United Nations to initiate studies with the object of promoting the realisation of fundamental human rights and freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion. It will be seen from paragraph 2 of Article 62 that the Economic and Social Council may "make recommendations for the purpose of promoting respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all."

In the interest of promoting the realisation of the principles mentioned above, the Hungarian Government begs to submit its memorandum concerning the exercise of these rights, with special reference to the peculiar conditions of the Danube region, to the Governments of the principal Allied powers and the members of the United Nations. The Government however desires to retain the possibility of placing a more detailed plan before the principal Allied Powers at a later date, in which it will refer to these rights in the light of the experience gained in the period between the two world wars.

The Hungarian Government is convinced that, in the interests of maintaining respect for the rights of minorities in Southeastern Europe, it would be indispensable either to insert provisions for the protection of national minorities in the text of the peace-treaties in the spirit of the attached memorandum, or to arrange special treaties referring to the protection of such minorities between the permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations and the countries of Southeastern Europe which are concerned.

The duty of supervising the observance of and respect for the rights of the minorities should be entrusted to the United Nations, and in the first place to the General Assembly, on the authorisation of which the Economic and Social Council should carry out these duties (Article 60 of the Charter). As has been mentioned above, the latter may "make recommendations for the purpose of promoting respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all." (Article 62 paragraph 2).

It follows from the above-quoted provisions of the Charter that if any member of the United Nations reports a breach of the principles expressed in the said Article or laid down in the peace-treaty or special minority treaty, the Economic and Social Council, under the first paragraph of Article 62 of the Charter, will undertake a full examination of the case or take action for the initiation of the necessary enquiry, or make such proposals as it thinks fit.

The provisions outlined above, or those contained in the attached memorandum, might usefully be amplified by special provisions concerning the setting up of mixed commissions or mixed tribunals to

operate on the spot under the leadership of a president appointed by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in the interests of a pacific settlement in the spirit of paragraph 3 of Article 52 of the Charter, in the event of any dispute of a local or general character which arises from the interpretation or application of provisions concerning the exercise of the rights of national minorities.

The Hungarian Government declares that it is from now on prepared to accept any advice, proposal or decision of the General Assembly or any other organisation or authority of the United Nations regarding the application of minority rights, in accordance with its frequently-expressed desire that Hungary should be admitted to the United Nations Organisation as soon as this becomes possible, in order that this country may contribute to the common work of the democratic nations.

I have the honour to inform Your Excellency that the Hungarian Representation in Paris has already handed this Note and the attached memorandum to the Foreign Ministers of the principal Allied Powers who are now in conference there.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to Your Excellency the assurance of my highest consideration.

(signed) Auer
(signed) Gyöngyösi

His Excellency
V. M. Molotov
Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Union of Socialist Soviet Republics.

His Excellency
J. Byrnes
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs,
United States of America.

His Excellency
E. Bevin
His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs, Great Britain

His Excellency
G. Bidault
Minister for Foreign Affairs,
France

His Excellency
G. M. Puskin
Envoy Extraordinary & Minister Plenipotentiary,
Union of Socialist Soviet Republics.

His Excellency
H. F. Arthur Schoenfeld
Envoy Extraordinary & Minister Plenipotentiary,
United States of America.

His Excellency
Alexander K. Helm
British Political Commissioner
& Minister Designate.

Monsieur
Robert Faure
Chargé d'Affaires a.i. of France.

In the years 1919 and 1920, Minority Treaties were signed between the Allied and Associated Powers and the new or territorially increased States of Central and Eastern Europe, namely Czechoslovakia, Roumania and Yugoslavia. The treaties ensured certain minimum rights to the religious, linguistic and racial minorities of these countries, and these rights were placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations. Similar provisions were inserted in Articles 54--60 of the Treaty of Trianon concluded with Hungary.

By these treaties with the new or enlarged countries, the Great Powers confirmed their recognition of them, and the signature of the treaties was a condition of their recognition of the territory acquired. The Great Powers made these treaties because they considered the international protection of the national minorities necessary in the interests of peace in this part of Europe, where there are various national minorities living in all the countries, either in groups or in mixed areas. After the resettlement of territorial questions which is now going forward there will still be the necessity for the international protection of national minorities in this part of Europe, and perhaps in certain respects an increased need of it. There are at present signs which give increasing cause for alarm that the Hungarian minorities which will, as far as can be seen, remain outside the frontiers of the country in considerable numbers, are being deprived of their most elementary economic, social and cultural rights; this makes it the unconditional duty

of the Hungarian Government to press for such protection, all the more so because the validity of the provisions contained in the treaties of 1919 has not ceased, and they are in fact still in force. Since it is evidently necessary that the economic and social provisions should be put into practical effect, the legal measures applying to the rights of the minorities should be amplified by certain principles which arise directly from them, and the guaranteeing of them, now that the League of Nations has ceased to function, should be entrusted to the United Nations Organisation.

The principles proposed by the Hungarian Government are as follows:

1. No person should suffer any kind of disadvantage because of the declaration of his or her nationality or language either at a census or on any other occasion. There should be suitable punishment for any person who offends another by using an expression casting an aspersion on his nationality or acts in a manner which does so.

2. The fullest protection of life, health, religion and personal liberty should be assured to every inhabitant of a State regardless of nationality or language.

3. Citizens of a country who belong to a national minority should enjoy both legally and in fact the same civic and political rights as the other citizens. Difference of nationality or language should not place any citizen at a disadvantage in the exercise of these rights. The State in its capacity of a factor controlling economic affairs, e. g. as an employer or contractor, should not be allowed to differentiate between its citizens on the ground of nationality. The distribution of land expropriated under land reforms should be made solely for social and economic reasons, the nationality of those claiming land not being taken into account. Active and pensioned employees of the State and corporations belonging to the nationalities should not receive less favourable treatment than other State or public employees. The right to manual or office work, the right of choice and the right to strike of workers belonging to the nationalities should not be restricted for the benefit of the ruling nation. Any regulation of the unemployment question in such manner that there is a disproportionate decrease in the number of employees belonging to the nationalities is in conflict with the principle of equality. Any instigation of employers not to take on workers from the nationalities, or to dismiss them or exclude them, is inadmissible.

4. The inhabitants of a country may not be restricted in the free use of any language either in private affairs or in business, and especially in religious matters, in the press, in associations or trades unions and in general in economic, cultural and social affairs.

5. If persons belonging to the national minorities apply to a court or administrative authority the competency of which extends to a district in which at least twenty per cent of the population belongs to that nationality, they may use their own language both in speech and in writing, and the said authorities will communicate their decisions to the persons concerned in the language of the latter. In order that this principle may be applied in practice, a sufficient number of administrative officials and magistrates must be employed who can both speak and write the language of the national minority concerned. Within the above limits, local and representative autonomous corporations may choose the language of discussion and business themselves. These principles should also be applied correspondingly to the concerns and undertakings of the State and corporations (railways, postal, telegraphic and telephone services, trams etc.) in verbal and written communication.

6. Persons belonging to the nationalities and also churches must be permitted at their own expense to set up and maintain schools and educational establishments where instruction is given in any language, which are considered as public schools and can issue certificates of equal validity with those issued by the State schools.

7. In all communities where there are at least thirty children of school age who belong to any national minority, the State must maintain an elementary school for them with instruction given in their own language, and employ teachers belonging to that nationality who speak and write the language perfectly. In order that this principle may be applied in practice, the State should see to it that there are a sufficient number of teachers training colleges with instruction in the language of the nationality concerned.

8. Where there are at least fifty thousand citizens of a national minority in the territory of a State, the State shall see to it that there shall be at least one of each type of school giving instruction of higher grade than elementary, with the exception of universities and highschools, for pupils of that nationality, and one further school of each type for every additional 100,000 people, instruction being given in the language of the minority concerned.

9. The nationality of the pupil is to be established solely by the verbal or written declaration of his or her legal representative, and this may not be revised or questioned by the educational authorities. School books or readers which offend the national feelings of the pupils or stir up hatred between the nations may not be used in the schools established for the national minorities.

10. Persons belonging to the national minorities have the right to foster and develop their own language, to organise and further educational matters, to develop their culture, and for this purpose to establish

and maintain associations, societies and any other kind of cultural institution.

11. In their financial estimates, the State and the local and other autonomous bodies must, out of the expenditure provided for educational purposes, apply such sums to each type of school maintained in accordance with the foregoing as is proportionate to the numbers of the national minority in question as compared with the total population of the State or area concerned, and in the case of representative autonomous bodies to the total number of those concerned. The same principle is to be applied also in the application of sums provided for cultural purposes in the State and corporation financial estimates.

12. It is not permissible to hinder the contacts of citizens belonging to the national minorities with citizens of other countries who are of the same nationality in cultural, social and economic matters. The principle covers the right of attending schools in other countries, including universities and high schools, where the language of instruction is the same as that of the national minority concerned.

13. The States interested should be obliged to enact provisions covering the above principles, and should not be allowed to pass legislation or issue decrees conflicting with them or permit contradictory action by their authorities.

Hungarian Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Annex Nr. 12.

280/Be. res.

1946. Budapest, July 15th, 1946.

Your Excellency,

For kind transmission to the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (of the United States of America, of His Britannic Majesty's Government, of the French Republic), I have the honour to enclose herewith a Memorandum of the Hungarian Government concerning the citizenship of Hungarians living in Roumania.

The Roumanian Government intends to solve the question of citizenship of the Hungarian minority living in Roumania by unilateral measures. The recent orders and official declaration of the Roumanian Government are sources of great anxiety as to the future of Hungarians in Transylvania. The Hungarian Government is of the opinion that the just and equitable settlement of this question is the indispensable preliminary condition of the peaceful cooperation of these two neighbouring

nations. For this reason I have the honour to ask your Excellency, kindly and urgently to draw the attention of the Government of the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (of the United States, of His Britannic Majesty's Government, of the French Republic) to this problem requesting their valuable support at the Peace Conference of the proposals detailed in the enclosed Memorandum.

I avail myself of this opportunity to renew to your Excellency the assurances of my high consideration.

(signed) Gyöngyösi.

His Excellency
G. M. Puskin
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary,
Union of Socialist Soviet Republics

His Excellency
H. F. Arthur Schoenfeld
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary,
United States Minister in Hungary.

His Excellency
A. K. Helm
Representative of His Britannic Majesty's
Government.

His Excellency
H. L. Gauquié
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary,
French Republic,
Budapest

Transylvania - The Roots of Ethnic Conflict