The
rights of Kosovo’s minority communities to use their own language, as well as
to education and freedom of expression, are closely related, a fact recognised
by international and European law.
According
to Article 58.2 of the Constitution, Kosovo is obliged to respect the standards
in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (hereinafter ‘the
European Charter’), which sets forth that states should adopt policies that
ensure “the provision of appropriate forms and means for the teaching and study
of regional or minority languages at all appropriate stages” .
However,
this promotion of minority languages and cultures should not be understood as a
one-sided defence of minorities against an encroaching majority, but rather as
a tool for promoting mutual understanding among communities, both majority and
minority. Hence, states should also “make arrangements to ensure the teaching
of the history and the culture which is reflected by the regional or minority
language” , also for non-speakers of the concerned languages.
The
European Charter further requires the state to take “resolute action to promote
regional or minority languages in order to safeguard them”. Most importantly,
these steps are taken against the backdrop that “every person belonging to a
national minority has the right to use freely and without interference his or
her minority language, in private and in public, orally and in writing”. Thus,
the right to education in one’s minority language, and the use thereof, can be
seen as a springboard towards fuller, more meaningful participation of both
majority and minority communities. As a logical continuation, the European
Charter also goes further in establishing that “persons belonging to national
minorities are granted the possibility of creating and using their own media”.
Finally,
it should be mentioned that the Kosovo authorities’ responsibilities are not
merely a vague promotion of minority languages in society. Institutions are
required to respect minority languages in their relations with the population,
namely “in areas inhabited by persons belonging to national minorities
traditionally or in substantial numbers, if those persons so request and where
such a request corresponds to a real need, the Parties shall endeavour to
ensure, as far as possible, the conditions which would make it possible to use
the minority language in relations between those persons and the administrative
authorities” .
The
OSCE has designed some of the most comprehensive standards for the protection
of language rights. Two OSCE documents have important significance in the
domain of language rights. The first, the Copenhagen Document, includes
detailed provisions on the use of languages as well as on non-discrimination
and education. Although it is not legally binding, it does have important soft
law and political implications and many consider it to be more advanced than
other instruments. The second document, the Oslo Recommendations, is a practical
policy tool that provides states and other actors with a detailed reference
point in the development of effective minority language policies, including in
relation to the use of languages in education, religion, media, community life
and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), as well as in communications with
public authorities, in judicial proceedings and in the operation of private
businesses.