On 7 December 2023, the Chair of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Aleksandra Oszmiańska-Pagett, participated in an exchange of views with the Council of Europe Steering Committee on Anti-Discrimination, Diversity and Inclusion (CDADI) in Strasbourg.

In her address to the CDADI members she underlined the relevance of the Charter 25 years after its entry into force and the achievements that have been made over the past decades. In that context, she highlighted that some states have decided in recent years to accept additional undertakings from the Charter, upgrading their obligations, and that updated ratification instruments can ensure that the Charter continues to serve as an instrument for tailor-made language policies.

Nevertheless, she also mentioned the challenges the Charter is facing. “The fact that states parties do not comply with a significant number of their undertakings under the Charter is undoubtedly the biggest structural challenge of this treaty. For the implementation of the Charter, regular and institutionalised dialogue between the authorities, minority language users and the Council of Europe is crucial”, she said.

“Another persisting challenge is to increase the number of ratifications of the Charter. The Charter is of general relevance, as regional or minority languages are traditionally used in most member states of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe can provide legal advice to support ratification”, she continued.

She welcomed the fact that the CDADI will carry out by 2025 a Study on recurrent problematic areas in the field of regional or minority language protection and identification of good practices in member States. According to her this study could contribute to supporting states parties in fully implementing the Charter and related monitoring recommendations, and to encouraging more states to ratify the Charter.

“The presence of minority languages on the internet, on smartphone applications but also in translation software is also crucial for their preservation. Digital and social media can complement the existing offer in traditional media at relatively low cost and appeal especially to the younger generation”, she concluded.