Understanding Self-Determination

Associating minorities with self-detemination invites criticism. It also means taking on a number of conceptual issues. In order to discuss a possible link, the basis is laid in a historical review before tackling the conceptual issues that self-determination faces. Self-determination has been endowed with meanings, has been interpreted and possibly misinterpreted for decades. This chapter offers the understanding of self-determination that is used in this project. 

---

Understanding self-determination is crucial to this project. There is a classic tale of self-determination which focuses on the external dimension. Here, the tale is different because it focuses on internal self-determination and self-determination as process rather than result. 

Even though minority rights and self-determination have been known for centuries, this project focuses on the twentieth century. The milestones of the century were the protection of minorities in connection with the League of Nations, decolonization and post Cold War time in the last decade of the century. Decolonization and the implications it has for external self-determination is excluded as far as possible. However, one cannot understand self-determination in the twentieth century without this dimension. 

It would seem likely that contiguity of a number of such self-determined nucleation sites might well result in an accelerating cascade of interactions that could help account for the remarkable speed of protein folding. Understanding of the additional control and facilitation of the overall process by catalysts of the sort described in this volume might soon lead to a true understanding of this fundamental problem. 

Lastly, effective intervention skills include those that help clients understand the systems responsible for medication prescribing and for delivery of psychosocial services. Beyond understanding mental health systems, clients must be helped to understand, how, when, and why medications need to be taken. Forcing clients to accept prescriptions without recognizing how individual and cultural differences will impact the client s willingness to accept the recommended treatment is a recipe for medication noncompliance and violates the basic self-determination rights of clients. 

A pharmacist promotes the right of self-determination and recognizes individual self-worth by encouraging patients to participate in decisions about their health. A pharmacist communicates with patients in terms that are understandable. In all cases, a pharmacist respects personal and cultural differences among patients. 

Part 11 deals with the vagueness and ambiguities of the terms used so far. It addresses the terms minority rights , minorities and self-determination . The three terms are not entirely clear by themselves and even less clear when used in the same context. Part II disentangles the many links, connectirais, overlaps between terms and concepts. Apart from furthering the understanding of what we are actually dealing with, conclusions of this part provide input for the final answer in Chap. 11. 

The paragraph on the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation that constitutes a violation of the principle of self-determination has to be understood in a wider context than the colonial cmitext. Understanding the FRD to be a concretization of the UN Charter, a document that was formed by the experiences of World War 11 and its miseries, would be cOTitraiy to its very aims to leave internally subjugated, dominated and exploited peoples completely defenceless towards their state. 

The Committee shows a surprisingly open approach to self-determination. While states often seem to equate self-determination with secession and the break-up of the international community, the Human Rights Committee is of the opinion that self-determination contributes to friendly relations, international peace and understanding. This should be a sign to states that self-determination is not all that threatening as it appears. 

Regarding self-determination, this tripartite covenant is tested. The exercise of self-determination is not dependent on the breach of obligations by the state. Self-determination can be exercised under any circumstance. It is the form self-determination takes that can be dependent on the state behaviour. Internal self-determination— in a narrow or a wide understanding—can be (and this will be agreed upon in the original position) part of the covenant. Internal self-determination structures society. External self-determination is only a possible remedy when the covenant is broken by the state. 

The understanding of internal and external self-determination becomes extremely important. The term self-determination is simply too broad and too general. While internal self-determination lies within the contract, external self-determination does not. The contract is negotiated in the original position. 

Self-determination has undergone a change of understanding. The concept has been re-interpreted and filled with new possibilities. As the term is still tmclear on many issues, it is necessary to account for the different interpretations relevant to this project. First and most important, there is the distinction between external and intemal self-determination, which both are explained in more detail below. Conceptually, external self-determination takes a territorial approach, while intemal self-determination foremost takes a non-territorial approach. 

---