Language rights play a key role in the protection of national minorities in Europe, according to the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

The Committee will present a new commentary on language rights to member states of the Council of Europe at a conference in Strasbourg (Agora building GO1) on 15 October from 9:30 am until 4 pm. According to the committee, governments must develop inclusive language policies to ensure that everyone is granted the right to use minority languages, while also providing equal opportunities in education and access to the labour market.

The conference – open to the press – will examine the issue in three panels with leading European experts: linguistic rights and effective participation in public life; linguistic rights and full and effective equality, and linguistic rights and personal/group identities.

Programme of the conference