Skip to main content

Minority Language Rights and Standards: Definitions and Applications at the Supranational Level

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

De Varennes and Kuzborska offer a much-needed disentanglement of the numerous understandings and approaches to minority language rights, though their focus is clearly from an international legal perspective. Solidly anchoring language rights to human rights, the chapter provides a historical contextualisation of “minority rights” while drawing attention to the frequent misconceptions and misunderstandings that have often plagued discussions on what language rights standards entail and who may claim them. The authors adopt a practical and lucid description of the human rights implications of minority language rights and explore their significance—and potential—in relation to concrete situations, in particular in the topical area of ethnic conflict prevention.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   189.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD   249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Covenant of the League of Nations, opened for signature 28 June 1919, entered into force 10 January 1920. Amended English version [online]. Available at http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/leagcov.asp [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  2. 2.

    See Smith, P., Koufa, K. and Suppan, A. (1991). Ethnic groups in international relations. New York: European Science Foundation, Page 13: “Those decisions, and particularly the atmosphere which accompanied their creation, greatly disappointed numerous advocates of the national principle as the foundation for the building of both the new Europe and the new world. The leaders of the victorious countries faced severe criticism coming from various directions. Thus, the idea of including in treaties the imposition of minority obligations on individual states, whether new or considerably enlarged, should be seen as a kind of compensation for the unfulfilled hopes evoked by the idea of national self-determination”.

  3. 3.

    The case of the Åland Islands is interesting because the arrangement has survived to the present day and provides a precedent on the potential importance of self-determination and autonomy arrangements for linguistic populations. A study by the United Nations (UN) Secretariat concluded that the engagements entered into by states after the First World War under the MinorityTreaties had ceased to exist, except for the Åland Islands agreement. See UN Document E/CN, 4/367 of 7 April 1950 and E/CN, 4/367 Add.1, 27 March 1951.

  4. 4.

    See Capotorti, F. (1983). Study on the rights of persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguisticminorities. New York: UN, Dept. of Public Information. In the Advisory Opinion on Minority Schools in Albania, (1935) Permanent Court of International Justice, Series A/B, No. 64, 3, the Permanent Court of International Justice held that these declarations also had the legal status of a treaty.

  5. 5.

    For an in-depth study on this period and such views, see Fink, C. (2014). Defending the rights of others. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  6. 6.

    Shimazu, N. (1998). Japan, Race and Equality: The Racial Equality Proposal of 1919. London, New York: Routledge, Page 115.

  7. 7.

    Shimazu, p. 28.

  8. 8.

    Signed at Versailles 28 June 1919. Treaty [online]. Available at http://www.forost.ungarisches-institut.de/pdf/19190628-3.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  9. 9.

    Study on the Rights of Persons belonging to Ethnic, Religious and LinguisticMinorities, at pp. 18–19.

  10. 10.

    Advisory Opinion on Minority Schools in Albania.

  11. 11.

    For an excellent description of the background on the minority protection system after the First World War and the basis and debates pertaining to the disenchantment with the system see Study on the Rights of Persons belonging to Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, at pp. 14–45. See also Liebich, A. and Reszler, A. (1991). L’Europe centrale et ses minorités: vers une solution européenne? Paris: Presses universitaires de France, Page 45.

  12. 12.

    Fink C. Minority Rights as an International Question. Contemporary European History, 9, 3 (2000), Cambridge University Press. Pages 385–400, Page 395.

  13. 13.

    UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues (2017). Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation. [online] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Minorities/SR/LanguageRightsLinguisticMinorities_EN.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  14. 14.

    McKean, W. (1983). Equality and Discrimination under International Law, Oxford: Clarendon Press, Page 53.

  15. 15.

    General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III), UN GAOR, 3rd Session, Resolutions, Part 1, at p. 71 (1948).

  16. 16.

    Council of Europe, European Treaty Series, No. 5.

  17. 17.

    Study on the Rights of Persons belonging to Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, at p. 27.

  18. 18.

    Treaty of Peace with Italy, signed in Paris on 10 February 1947. [online] Available at https://www.loc.gov/law/help/us-treaties/bevans/m-ust000004-0311.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  19. 19.

    Annex IV (Provisions Agreed upon by the Austrian and Italian Governments on 5 September 1946, original English text as signed by the two Parties and communicated to the Paris Conference on 6 September 1946), in Treaty of Peace with Italy, supra.

  20. 20.

    State Treaty for the re-establishment of an independent and democratic Austria. Signed at Vienna, on 15 May 1955. [online] Available at https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20217/v217.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  21. 21.

    Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (Council of Europe), [online] https://www.coe.int/en/web/minorities/text-of-the-convention [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018]. For a general description of the interpretation of the language rights provisions of this treaty, see Thematic Commentary no. 3 on the Language Rights of Persons Belonging to National Minorities under the Framework Convention (Council of Europe), [online] https://rm.coe.int/16800c108d [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  22. 22.

    Adopted by General Assembly resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992.

  23. 23.

    Convention Concerning the Protection and Integration of Indigenous and Other Tribal and Semi-Tribal Populations in Independent Countries, adopted 26 June 1957, [online] available at http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C107 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  24. 24.

    While indigenous peoples are a distinct legal category, factually indigenous peoples may simultaneously constitute a minority in countries where they live. Being a minority does not extinguish or diminish any indigenous rights.

  25. 25.

    Convention against Discrimination in Education, adopted 14 December 1960, [online] available at http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12949&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  26. 26.

    International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted 16 December 1966, [online] available at http://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/ccpr.aspx [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  27. 27.

    Article 30: “In those States in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities or persons of indigenous origin exist, a child belonging to such a minority or who is indigenous shall not be denied the right, in community with other members of his or her group, to enjoy his or her own culture, to profess and practise his or her own religion, or to use his or her own language”. Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted 20 November 1966, [online] available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  28. 28.

    European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. English version [online]. Available at https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-charter-regional-or-minority-languages/text-of-the-charter [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  29. 29.

    UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, [online] http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/Minorities.aspx [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  30. 30.

    UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, [online] http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/IPeoples/Pages/Declaration.aspx [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  31. 31.

    Vienna Declaration and Plan of Action, [online] http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/Vienna.aspx [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  32. 32.

    Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE, [online] http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/14304 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  33. 33.

    Oslo Recommendations Regardingthe Linguistic Rights of National Minorities (OSCE), [online] http://www.osce.org/hcnm/67531 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  34. 34.

    Hague Recommendations Regarding the Educational Rights of National Minorities (OSCE), [online] http://www.osce.org/fr/hcnm/32184 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  35. 35.

    Lund Recommendationson the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life (OSCE), [online] http://www.osce.org/hcnm/32240 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  36. 36.

    [online] http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Minorities/SR/LanguageRightsLinguisticMinorities_EN.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  37. 37.

    Study on the rights of persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities.

  38. 38.

    International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

  39. 39.

    See, for example, Minorities under international law [online] at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Minorities/Pages/internationallaw.aspx [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  40. 40.

    For an in-depth and comprehensive examination of the discussions and debates around the drafting of Article 27 of the ICCPR, see Duchêne, A. (2008). Ideologies across Nations: The Construction of Linguistic Minorities at the United Nations. Berlin-New York: Mouton de Gruyter, Pages 120–158.

  41. 41.

    See Wolfrum, R. (1993). The Emergence of ‘New Minorities’ as a Result of Migration. In C. Brölmann, R. Lefeber and M. Zieck, eds., Peoples and Minorities in International Law, Dordrecht, Boston: Springer, Pages 153–166, at Page 162.

  42. 42.

    Report of the independent expert on minority issues, Gay McDougall: Minorities and the Discriminatory Denial or Deprivation of Citizenship, HRC 7th session, 2008, A/HRC/7/23, [online] available at http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/HRC/7/23&Lang=E [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  43. 43.

    General Comment 15(27), UN Document A/41/40, at p. 118.

  44. 44.

    Nowak, M. (1993). The Evolution of Minority Rights in International Law. In C. Brölmann, R. Lefeber and M. Zieck, eds., Peoples and Minorities in International Law, Dordrecht, Boston: Springer, Pages 103–118, at Page 116. See also Bossuyt, M. (1990). The United Nations and the Definition of Minorities. Plural Societies, XXI, pages 129–136, at p. 131: “If Article 27 contains mainly a negative obligation in the sense that governments are obligated to refrain from interfering with the culture, religion and language of minority groups, a definition becomes almost superfluous. It is also because Article 27 contains essentially only negative obligations that Article 27 may also be applied to aliens and to immigrants…”.

  45. 45.

    6 April 1994, Document CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.5, at paragraphs 5.1 and 5.2.

  46. 46.

    Ballantyne, Davidson, McIntyre v. Canada, Communications Nos. 359/1989 and 385/1989, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/47/D/359/1989 and 385/1989/Rev.1 (1993).

  47. 47.

    See UNHCR report exposes the discrimination pervading the life of stateless minorities worldwide, 3 November 2017, [online] at http://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2017/11/59fc27514/unhcr-report-exposes-discrimination-pervading-life-stateless-minorities.html [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  48. 48.

    UNESCO (2012). Why Language Matters for the Millennium Development Goals. [online] available at http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016800cb5e5 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  49. 49.

    UNESCO (September 2006). Language Matters. The Intangible Heritage Messenger, [online] available at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001471/147185e.pdf, Page 1 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  50. 50.

    Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, adopted 20 October 2005. [online] available at http://en.unesco.org/creativity/sites/creativity/files/passeport-convention2005-web2.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  51. 51.

    The objectives of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages can be found online at https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-charter-regional-or-minority-languages/the-objectives-of-the-charter-[Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  52. 52.

    Ethnologue, [online] available at https://www.ethnologue.com/country/UA/languages [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  53. 53.

    Convention on Biological Diversity, adopted on 5 June 1992. [online] available at https://www.cbd.int/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018]. This treaty only provides for support to short-term projects and specific aspects of heritage of international interest and only those proposed by governments occasionally. In other words, it does not create any rights to use endangered languages or even any direct entitlement to their protection since it is left to the discretion of national governments to submit occasionally some kind of proposal for specific action which can then be occasionally financially supported by a UNESCO fund for this purpose.

  54. 54.

    Council of Europe (1992). Explanatory Report to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. [online] available at http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016800cb5e5 [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  55. 55.

    Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation.

  56. 56.

    The European Charter forRegional or Minority Languages of the Council of Europe neither recognises any enforceable right nor is it premised on human rights concerns. It is based on state obligations to protect and promote European linguistic diversity.

  57. 57.

    Ballantyne, Davidson, McIntyre v. Canada, Communications Nos. 359/1989 and 385/1989, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/47/D/359/1989 and 385/1989/Rev.1 (1993).

  58. 58.

    Ballantyne, Davidson and McIntyre v. Canada, UN Human Rights Committee Communications Nos. 359/1989 and 385/1989, 31 March 1993.

  59. 59.

    Ouranio Toxo and Others v. Greece, European Court of Human Rights, 74,989/01, 20 October 2005.

  60. 60.

    Ballantyne, Davidson and McIntyre v. Canada, UN Human Rights Committee Communications Nos. 359/1989 and 385/1989, 31 March 1993.

  61. 61.

    Name is used here as a generic term to include forenames (or first names) and surnames (last or family names).

  62. 62.

    Raihman v. Latvia, UN Human Rights Committee, CCPR/C/100/D/1621/2007, 28 October 2010.

  63. 63.

    See Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Japan, 27 April 2001, CERD/C/304/Add.114, paragraph 18, and Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Morocco, CERD/C/MAR/Q/17–18, 8 July 2010, paragraph 12.

  64. 64.

    See Comments on Dominican Republic, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/79/Add.18 (1993):

    7. The Committee exmathpresses its concern over the inadequate protection of the rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in the Dominican Republic. In this regard, the Committee notes that the prohibition of broadcasting in a language other than Spanish is not in conformity with article 19 [freedom of expression] of the Covenant.

  65. 65.

    OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities (2003). Guidelines on the use of MinorityLanguages in the Broadcast Media. The Hague: Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

  66. 66.

    Article 27: “In those States in which…linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group… to use their own language”. Article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child is similarly worded, though including indigenous children.

  67. 67.

    Lovelace v. Canada, UN Human Rights Committee Communication 24/1977, UN Document A/36/40.

  68. 68.

    See, for example, Advisory Opinion on Minority Schools in Albania, (1935) Permanent Court of International Justice, Series A/B, No. 64, 3, at p. 17. See also dissident opinion of Judge Kōtarō Tanaka, South West Africa (Liberia v. South Africa), (1966) International Court of Justice, judgment of 18 July 1966, at Page 310.

  69. 69.

    This can occur if state authorities unreasonably only provide financial support to some private minority schools, Waldman v. Canada, 3 November 1999. (Communication No. 694/1996), CCPR/C/67/D/694/199.

  70. 70.

    Following the conclusions of the UN Human Rights Committee that the Government of Québec breached freedom of expression by requiring the exclusive use of the official language (French) on commercial signs, state authorities adopted legislation that respected a private individual’s language of choice in his or her own private affairs by not restricting in a disproportionate way the use of a language of preference on private signs, while still requiring that these display the official language in a predominant position. This shows how a state can combine the legitimate goal of promoting and protecting an official language, while not preventing an individual’s human right to use the language of his or her choice in private matters, including on signs visible to the general public.

  71. 71.

    Van der Vlis, E. (2010). The right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings. The Journal of Specialised Translation. July (14). Pages 28–29.

  72. 72.

    See Chapter 4 in Namakula, C. (2014). Language and the Right to Fair Hearing in International Criminal Trials. New York: Springer.

  73. 73.

    Directive on the Right to Interpretation and Translation, DIRECTIVE 2010/64/EU.

  74. 74.

    Kamasinski v. Austria, judgement of the European Court of Human Rights, 19 December 1989.

  75. 75.

    Article 14(3)(f) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

  76. 76.

    Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation, at p. 7.

  77. 77.

    Case relating to certain aspects of the laws on the use of languages in education in Belgium v Belgium, Application no 1474/62; 1677/62; 1691/62; 1769/63; 1994/63; 2126/64, judgment of 23 July 1968, (Nos. 1 & 2). (No.1) (1967), Series A, No.5 (1979–80) 1 EHRR 241, http://minorityrights.org/wp-content/uploads/old-site-downloads/download-223-Belgian-Linguistic-case-full-case.pdf

  78. 78.

    Thornberry, P. (1991). International Law and the Rights of Minorities. Oxford: Clarendon Press, Oxford, Chapter 7.

  79. 79.

    See generally Skutnabb-Kangas, T. and Phillipson, R. (1994). LinguisticHuman Rights: Overcoming Linguistic Discrimination. Berlin and New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Pages 71–110.

  80. 80.

    Smith, R. (2003). Mother Tongue Education and the Law: A Legal Review of Bilingualism with Reference to Scottish Gaelic. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 6:2, 129–145. Pages 130–132.

  81. 81.

    The European Court of Human Rights did conclude it was unreasonable and unjustified, and therefore discriminatory, to prevent children from having access to French-language schools in certain communes of Brussels, solely on the basis of the residence of their parents. This was not the case for Dutch-language schools and thus constituted discriminatory treatment.

  82. 82.

    At pp. 884–886.

  83. 83.

    J.G.A. Diergaardt et al. v. Namibia. 25 July 2000. (Communication No. 760/1997), U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/69/D/760/1997 (2000).

  84. 84.

    Kevin Mgwanga Gunme et al. v. Cameroon, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Communication 266/2003, 27 May 2009. Available at http://caselaw.ihrda.org/doc/266.03/view/

  85. 85.

    Cyprus v. Turkey, Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, judgment of 10 May 2001, (2002) 35 E.H.R.R. 30,

  86. 86.

    Catan and Others v. Moldova and Russia, Applications nos. 43,370/04 18,454/06 8252/05, judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, 19 October 2012.

  87. 87.

    Other documents containing the same general approach, though with some variations, include the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the Oslo RecommendationsRegarding the Linguistic Rights ofNationalMinorities, the UN Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples, and the UN Declarationon the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

  88. 88.

    The Global Transparency Initiative (2009). Model World Bank Policy on Disclosure of Information, Page 1. [online] http://www.ifitransparency.org/uploads/.../GTI_WB_Model_Policy_final.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  89. 89.

    Benson, C. (2005). Girls, Educational Equity and Mother Tongue-based Teaching. Bangkok: UNESCO. [online] http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001420/142049e.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2018].

  90. 90.

    See generally, UNESCO (2008). Improving the Quality of Mother Tongue-based Literacy and Learning: Case Studies from Asia, Africa and South America. Bangkok: UNESCO.

  91. 91.

    For a list of some of these studies, see Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation.

  92. 92.

    For example, in one 2013 ranking of France’s high schools (‘lycées’), the top educational facility for the whole country was the Lycée Diwan teaching in the minority Breton language rather than the country’s only official language. This school also had a higher average fluency in the French language than mainstream students, even though most of their instruction was in Breton.

  93. 93.

    Dutcher, N. in collaboration with Tucker, G.R. (1997). The Use of First and Second Languages in Education: A Review of Educational Experience. Washington D.C.: World Bank.

  94. 94.

    Article 17(a), Convention on the Rights of the Child.

  95. 95.

    Van der Stoel, M. (2001). Easing the Sisyphus Task: Preventing the Conflicts of the Future. Speech by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der Stoel at the Verleihung des Hessichen Friedenspreises, Wiesbaden, Germany. Available at: http://www.osce.org/hcnm/42334?download=true. [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].

  96. 96.

    See: Packer, J. G. Siemienski (1999). The Language of Equity: The Origin and Development of the Oslo Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 6, pp. 329–350. At Page 330.

  97. 97.

    Turner, N. and Otsuki, N. (2010). The Responsibility to Protect Minorities and the Problem of the Kin-State. Policy Brief, 2, UNU Press.

  98. 98.

    Language Rights of Linguistic Minorities: A Practical Guide for Implementation. Page 9.

  99. 99.

    Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities.

  100. 100.

    Hague RecommendationsRegarding the Education Rights ofNationalMinorities, 1 October 1996; Oslo RecommendationsRegarding the Linguistic Rights ofNationalMinorities, 1 February 1998; Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation ofNationalMinoritiesin Public Life, 1 September 1999; Guidelines on the Useof Minority Languages in the Broadcast Media, 10 October 2003; Recommendations on Policing in Multi-Ethnic Societies, 9 February 2006; Bolzano/BozenRecommendations onNationalMinorities in Inter-State Relations, 2 October 2008; Ljubljana Guidelines onIntegration of Diverse Societies, 7 November 2012; and the Graz Recommendations on Access to Justice andNationalMinorities, 14 November 2017.

  101. 101.

    Packer, J. G. Siemienski (1999). The Language of Equity: The Origin and Development of the Oslo Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities. International Journal on Minority and Group Rights, 6, pp. 329–350. At Pages 329–330.

  102. 102.

    Recommendation 1492 (2001), Rights of national minorities, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, http://assembly.coe.int/nw/xml/XRef/Xref-XML2HTML-EN.asp?fileid=16861&lang=en

  103. 103.

    See UN News Centre (2017). UN human rights chief points to ‘textbook example of ethnic cleansing’ in Myanmar. [online] Available at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=57490#.WhryVjdrw2w [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].

  104. 104.

    Van der Stoel, M. (2001). Easing the Sisyphus Task: Preventing the Conflicts of the Future. Speech by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Max van der Stoel at the Verleihung des Hessichen Friedenspreises, Wiesbaden, Germany. Available at: http://www.osce.org/hcnm/42334?download=true. [Accessed 2 Apr. 2018].

References

Books, Chapters and Articles

  • Benson, C. (2005). Girls, Educational Equity and Mother Tongue-based Teaching, UNESCO, Bangkok, available at http://www.unescobkk.org/resources/e-library/publications/article/girls-educational-equity-and-mother-tongue-based-teaching/

  • Bossuyt, M. (1990). The United Nations and the Definition of Minorities. Plural Societies, XXI, 129–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dutcher, N. in collaboration with G. Richard Tucker. (1997). The Use of First and Second Languages in Education: A Review of Educational Experience. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fink, C. (2004). Defending the Rights of Others: The Great Powers, the Jews, and International Minority Protection, 1878–1938. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • L’Europe centrale et ses minorités: vers une solution européenne?, André Liebich and André Reszler (eds.), Presses Universitaires de France, Paris, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Language Rights in the Minimum Guarantees of Fair Criminal Trial in Catherine S. Namakula, Language and the Right to Fair Hearing in International Criminal Trials, Springer International Publishing, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • McKean, W. (1983). Equality and Discrimination under International Law. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nowak, M. (1993). The Evolution of Minority Rights in International Law. In C. Brölmann, R. Lefeber, & M. Zieck (Eds.), Peoples and Minorities in International Law (pp. 103–118). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shimazu, N. (1998). Japan, Race and Equality. Routledge. London and New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfrum, R. (1993). The Emergence of ‘New Minorities’ as a Result of Migration. In C. Brölmann, R. Lefeber, & M. Zieck (Eds.), Peoples and Minorities in International Law (pp. 153–166). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff.

    Google Scholar 

International Treaties

Judgments, Decisions and Views of International Courts and Bodies

  • Advisory Opinion on Minority Schools in Albania, (1935) Permanent Court of International Justice, Series A/B, No. 64, 3.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ballantyne, Davidson and McIntyre v. Canada, U.N. Human Rights Committee Communications Nos. 359/1989 and 385/1989, 31 March 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • Catan and Others v. Moldova and Russia, applications nos. 43370/04 18454/06 8252/05, ECtHR, judgment of 19 October 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Comments on Dominican Republic, U.N. Human Rights Committee, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/79/Add.18 (1993).

    Google Scholar 

  • Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Japan, 27 April 2001, CERD/C/304/Add.114.

    Google Scholar 

  • Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: Morocco, CERD/C/MAR/Q/17-18, 8 July 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cyprus v. Turkey, Grand Chamber, ECtHR, judgment of 10 May 2001, (2002) 35 E.H.R.R. 30.

    Google Scholar 

  • J.G.A. Diergaardt (late Captain of the Rehoboth Baster Community) et al. v. Namibia, U.N. Human Rights Committee, communication No. 760/1997, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/69/D/760/1997 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamasinski v. Austria, ECtHR, judgement of 19 December 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kevin Gumne and Others v. République du Cameroun, communication 266/2003, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Banjul, The Gambia, 45th Ordinary Session, 13–27 May 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lovelace v. Canada, U.N. Human Rights Committee, communication 24/1977, U.N. Document A/36/40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ouranio Toxo and Others v. Greece, ECtHR, application no. 74989/01, judgment of 20 October 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raihman v. Latvia, U.N. Human Rights Committee, CCPR/C/100/D/1621/2007, 28 October 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldman v. Canada, U.N. Human Rights Committee, 3 November 1999, communication no. 694/1996), CCPR/C/67/D/694/199.

    Google Scholar 

Other Documents

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

de Varennes, F., Kuzborska, E. (2019). Minority Language Rights and Standards: Definitions and Applications at the Supranational Level. In: Hogan-Brun, G., O’Rourke, B. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Minority Languages and Communities. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54066-9_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54066-9_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54065-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54066-9

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics