Protection of National Minorities in Policing by the Council of Europe: with Case Studies of Hungary and Slovakia

National minorities tend to be an especially vulnerable group. Policing is an area in which discrimination against minorities can prove to be alarming. The focus of this book is on the monitoring mechanisms created by the Council of Europe, the Advisory Committee on the Protection of National Minorities (ACFC), the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), and the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). This book includes two case studies, one concerning Hungary and another Slovakia as these countries have a significant percentage of national minorities. Furthermore, the past years have shown an increase in racism and xenophobia in these countries. This book examines the dialogue between the expert bodies and these states and assesses their working methods, the cooperation between these bodies and the practical impact of the monitoring mechanism. On the whole the aim is to get an insight into some of the strengths and weaknesses of international human rights monitoring mechanisms, in dealing with areas in which shortcomings cannot be tolerated.