Ethnic Identities And Conflict: Ethnic Conflict Prevention Approach Of European Union

Conflicts between ethnic groups are one of the most destructive and devastating forms of conflicts. In the beginning of the Third millennium the world and humankind are still suffering due to conflicts between ethnic groups. Sudan, Rwanda, Yugoslavia, UK-Northern Ireland, Spain, Sri Lanka, and Turkey are some of current examples of these conflicts that caused mass human rights violation and loss of human lives and strained economy and damaged the environment. Therefore preventing conflicts is an important issue that must be addressed and studied. This paper aims to examine, first, ethnicity, ethnicity making situations, causes and forms of ethnic conflicts. Second, it explores what are the main features of ethnic conflict prevention, what is the conflict prevention approach of EU and how EU functions in conflicts. Finally the study concludes that establishing a minority rights protection system is the most effective and humanitarian way to prevent ethnic conflicts. DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n1p27