November 2005

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THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE’S OPINION ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES BY ITALY AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC, MADE PUBLIC

November 2005 – The opinion of the Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities on measures taken in this field by Italy and the Czech Republic have been made public at the country's initiative on the 25th and 26th of October respectively. The Advisory Committee of 18 independent experts drew up the opinions on the basis of the state report and other materials and after conducting a visit to both countries.

According to the Advisory Committee, Italy and the Czech Republic have made steps to improve the implementation of the Framework Convention since 2002, which have seen positive developments. However, the opinion includes some issues of concern and recommendations, since some shortcomings have been noticed. As regards to Italy, the Committee has reminded that “the implementation of the specific legislation protecting the Slovene minority in the region Friuli-Venezia Giulia has not really started four years after its adoption due to the persisting political, legal and technical disputes over the demarcation of the Law’s territorial scope of application”. It is also concerned about the fact that “there remains a need to develop TV and radio programmes in other minority languages like in Friulan. Legal obligations in this field, which derive from the national legislative framework on minorities, have not been implemented to date. The reception of existing programmes remains impossible in certain provinces with a traditional presence of minorities, such as the Slovenians and the Ladins”. The opinion also stresses “the lack of tangible progress in the integration of the Roma, Sinti and Travellers” and the lack of legal protection at the state level for those communities, which “should be addressed by the authorities so as to enable these persons to better preserve and further develop their identity and culture”.

As to the Czech Republic, the Advisory Committee underlines that “there is still room for improvement in fields such as the use of minority languages in the public sphere, teaching of and in minority languages and participation of national minorities in public affairs, particularly at local level” and that “media access for persons belonging to national minorities and education reflecting their culture and traditions also require increased efforts”. The social exclusion and marginalisation the Roma people suffer should also be dealt with as a matter of priority. The opinion will soon be examined by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, which will then adopt its conclusions and possible recommendations.

Latest news from the Council of Europe regarding minorities also inform that Ukraine has finally deposited the ratification instrument for the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, more than two years after it was ratified by the parliament.