In my thesis, I am going to write about the purpose of national minorities in the world, about their definition, their rights and the protection of their rights at the international and European level, and ultimately also in the Republic of Croatia. National minorities have different purposes and roles in the world and these often develop on the basis of their history, culture and specific circumstances in which they live. The definition of national minorities can vary depending on the context and country, but in general, national minorities are defined according to criteria such as ethnicity, language, culture, religion and history. At the international level, the rights of national minorities are recognized and protected by numerous documents, including the Charter of the United Nations, the European Convention on Human Rights and the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. These documents ensure basic rights such as freedom of expression, the right to education in one's own language and the right to participate in political processes. In what follows, I am going to define and explain all the problems and curiosities that national minorities face on a daily basis.