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Council of Europe with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the most important minority-specific documents
In Europe, the Council of Europe is responsible for the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is of great importance with regard to the protection of human rights and minorities. In contrast to the political provisions of the OSCE, those of the Council of Europe are legally binding for the 47 member states. The international organization draws up multilateral international treaties. In the event of violations of these, any individual can appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg, i.e. the Council of Europe is also responsible for legal protection. The ECtHR makes a significant contribution to the development of European minority protection. Since the beginning of the 1990s, admission to the EU has also required states to provide a “European minimum level” of minority protection in national law. This is remarkable, as all EU member states are parties to the ECHR and therefore bound by the Convention. The EU as such is not yet bound by the ECHR in its actions. The Lisbon Treaty of 2009 provides for accession to it (Art. 6 (2) EUV).
The ECHR was adopted by the Council of Europe in Rome in 1950 and came into force three years later. It contains a catalog of the most important fundamental and human rights. Although special minority rights are not included, the prohibition of discrimination under Art. 14 ECHR is essential for the protection of minorities. No one should be treated less favorably because they belong to a national minority. Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU is based on this article.
With the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (Language Charter), the Council of Europe has drawn up the most important legally binding instruments in Europe.
The Framework Convention and the Language Charter complement each other. While the Framework Convention lays down general political provisions, the Language Charter focuses on the linguistic and cultural field.
Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities
Since 1993, the member states of the Council of Europe have been working on a framework convention for the protection of national minorities, which was opened for signature on February 1, 1995. The Convention, which came into force in Germany in 1998, prohibits any discrimination against a person because of their membership of a national minority and any assimilation against their will. It also obliges the member states to protect civil liberties and to take extensive measures to promote national minorities. The Framework Convention is considered a federal law in Germany and therefore takes precedence over state laws, for example. Of the current 47 member states of the Council of Europe, 39 states have ratified the Framework Convention and a further four states have signed the Convention. Exceptions remain France, Greece, Belgium, Monaco, Luxembourg, Andorra, Iceland and Turkey (as of 12/2022).
Germany played an active role in the drafting of the convention and campaigned for the most efficient implementation possible. This is because the mechanisms that ensure that the contracting states comply with their obligations are at least as important as entering into obligations under international law.
Signatory states must provide the Council of Europe with comprehensive information on implementation within one year of entry into force and report every five years thereafter.
An Advisory Committee of independent experts supports the Council of Europe in its monitoring tasks.
Europäische Charta der Regional- oder Minderheitensprachen
With the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages aims to protect and promote minority and regional languages traditionally spoken in a signatory state as an endangered aspect of Europe’s cultural heritage. The required measures relate to education, in particular the teaching of the language and in the language, the use of regional or minority languages in court proceedings and before administrative authorities, the use of the language in broadcasting and the press, in cultural activities and institutions, and in economic and social life.
However, the Language Charter is a so-called “menu convention”. This means that states have the option of choosing between several commitment alternatives from the above-mentioned areas of life. Each contracting party must apply at least 35 clauses or paragraphs from a catalog of measures, including a number of mandatory measures to be selected from a “core area”.
In Germany, responsibility for implementing the Language Charter lies primarily with the federal states and only to a limited extent with the federal government – due to the sovereignty of the federal states, particularly in the area of education. Before the Charter was signed by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Länder were therefore given the opportunity to commit to implementing individual measures in line with the different living conditions of the individual minority and language groups on the ground. The obligations of the respective countries vary in detail – depending on the minority and language group.
The Charter was opened for signature in Strasbourg on November 5, 1992, but only came into force on March 1, 1998, when the required number of five ratifications was reached. The Federal Republic of Germany was one of the first signatories to the Charter on November 5, 1992. The German Bundestag adopted the Charter by law on July 9, 1998 with the approval of the Bundesrat, and it came into force in Germany on January 1, 1999. Like the Framework Convention, the Language Charter in Germany is considered a federal law that overrides subordinate law – including state laws – and is generally to be applied as the more specific law compared to other federal laws. Of the current 47 member states of the Council of Europe, 25 states have ratified the Charter to date, while nine states have only signed the Charter (as of 12/2022).
