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ETHNIC MINORITIES /
Statement
EMC on the ratification of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages
Georgia became the member of the Council of Europe in 1999, and therefore automatically agreed to the principles of the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages and expressed its strong commitment to ratify the document. However, the state has not made this step yet.
Based on the latest information released, Akhalkalaki municipality Council has up to now been working on the text addressing the Georgian Parliament to demand the Charter ratification.
EMC expresses its concern regarding several politicians and the members of the society to be speculating with the topic. Unfortunately, this demand is being portrayed as the one containing threat of separatism. EMC considers the Charter not to be containing this type of threat and that the demand of its ratification coming from the Georgian citizens is absolutely legitimate and constitutional.
The European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages represents a document that includes human rights standards. It is devoted to protecting and supporting usage and development of regional and minority languages as to those being inseparable from the common cultural heritage of Europe. For this reason, the Charter is not only stating that its impermissible to discriminate on the utilization of languages, but at the same time it foresees taking specific actions for actively supporting these languages. It ensures the usage of regional and minority languages in education system and in mass media. And it allows their usage in the work of the judiciary and administrative bodies, as well as in the economic, social and cultural practices within the society.
According to the Charter the status of the minority language is defined as the one traditionally used on a respective territory of the state by its citizens, quantitatively representing a smaller group than the rest of the population in this country and also as the one being different from the official language (languages).
EMC expresses its solidarity towards the demands of the language minorities living in Georgia and addresses the Georgian government to ratify the Charter in extensively short and rational period of time. Calls for the government to develop an action plan for the proper implementation of the Charter with the involvement of the society and primarily of those representing language minorities.
