ELL: Georgia signs the Framework Convention

[Maximilian Hartmuth]

Dear Members,
First off, my name is Maximilian Hartmuth (Vienna,Austria), this is my
first posting to the list. I just found the following article in my mailbox
and thought it might be relevant to this forum.
(It was distributed by the council of Europe on the Balkan and MINELRES
Lists, see below)
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Georgia signs the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities

STRASBOURG, 21.01.2000 - Georgia today signed the Framework Convention
for the Protection of National Minorities. Ambassador Lana
GOGOBERIDZE, Permanent Representative of Georgia to the COUNCIL OF
EUROPE, signed this text in the presence of Walter SCHWIMMER,
Secretary General of the Organisation.

Opened for signature on 1 February 1995, this text is the first
legally binding multilateral instrument for the protection of national
minorities. It is already in force in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, Moldova,
Norway, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Switzerland, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Ukraine, the
United Kingdom as well as Armenia. It has also been signed by Greece,
Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland,
Portugal and Sweden.

For more information:
The Framework Convention sets out the principles to be respected and
implemented by the States Parties. They thereby undertake:

- to combat discrimination,
- to promote full and effective equality, between national minorities
and the majority,
- to promote the conditions necessary to preserve and develop the
culture and safeguard the identity of national minorities, their
language, religion and tradition,
- to afford persons belonging to national minorities freedom of
peaceful assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression and
freedom of thought, conscience and religion,
- to ensure the right to access to and use of the media,
in the field of linguistic freedoms
- to allow the use of the minority language in private and in public,
as well as in dealings with administrative authorities,
- to recognise the right to use one's name in the minority language,
- to recognise the right to display information of a private nature
visible to the public in the minority language,
- to make efforts to display topographical indications in the minority
language,

in the field of education,
- to provide opportunities for learning a minority language and for
receiving instruction in this language,
- to recognise the creation of educational and training
establishments,
- not to hinder transfrontier contacts,
- to foster transfrontier and international co-operation,
- to encourage participation in economic, cultural and social life,
- to promote participation in public affairs,
- to prohibit forced assimilation.

Implementation
The Convention includes a monitoring mechanism, whereby the Committee
of Ministers, assisted by an Advisory Committee composed of
independent experts, evaluates the adequacy of the Convention's
implementation. The States Parties will be obliged to present, within
one year after the entry into force of the Convention, a report
containing full information on legislative and other measures taken to
give effect to the Convention. Moreover, each Party shall thereafter
submit a report every five years and whenever the Committee of
Ministers so requests. The reports of the States and the conclusions
of the Committee of Ministers will be made public.

Non-member states may also be invited to accede to Framework
Convention.

Press Contact
Christiane Dennemeyer, Council of Europe Press Service
Tel. +33 3 88 41 25 63 - Fax. +33 3 88 41 27 89
E-mail: PressUnit at coe.int <mailto:PressUnit at coe.int>


Nicola Markes-Goerlach
Council of Europe
Directorate General of Human Rights
Minorities Unit
F-67075 Strasbourg-Cedex
nicola.markes-goerlach at coe.int

Tel:   00 33 - (0)3 90 21 44 33
Fax:  00 33 - (0)3 88 41 27 93
__________________________________________________________
email address updates : @coe.int replaces  @coe.fr
for more information, http://dct.coe.int/info/emfci001.htm
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