ABSTRACT

Table 7.1 How many of the 52 Universal Human Rights Instruments had countries ratified by 31 May 1998? 494

Table 7.2 Number of the 31 Council of Europe Human Rights Instruments ratified by each of the 40 member states 495

Table 7.3 Number of the 3 Organization of African Unity Human Rights Instruments ratified by each of the 53 member states 495

Table 7.4 Number of the 14 Organization of American States Human Rights Instruments ratified by each of the 35 member states 496

Figure 7.1 Language rights in selected countries and covenants 512 Definition Box 7.1 Indigenous peoples, Jose R. Martinez Cobo 1987 488 Definition Box 7.2 Indigenous peoples, ILO 169, 1989 488 Definition Box 7.3 Minority (from Skutnabb-Kangas & Phillipson 1994a) 491 Info Box 7.1 Useful Fact Sheets from the UN Centre for Human Rights 483 Info Box 7.2 Austrian Constitutional Law of 1867, Article 19 508 Info Box 7.3 Examples of degree of overtness in regulations 513 Info Box 7.4 Covert prohibition of LHRs: there are no minorities

(Japan, France, Turkey) 515 Info Box 7.5 The Law to Combat Terrorism (3713), Turkey, extracts 517

Info Box 7.7 Suggestions for Amendments to the USA Constitution by Senators Huddleston and Hayakawa 524

Info Box 7.8 Model Law Against Racial Discrimination, UN 530 Info Box 7.9 Linguistic diversity not respected by 103 Heads of State? 530 Info Box 7.10 European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages:

Signatures and ratifications 535 Info Box 7.11 Framework Convention for the Protection of National

Minorities: Signatures and ratifications 536 Info Box 7.12 Recife Declaration: Resolution on linguistic rights/

Bolivia-but not in Denmark 552 Info Box 7.14 Denmark violates the human rights of refugees 554 Info Box 7.15 Peoples' Communication Charter, language rights related

versus necessary rights 499 Address Box 7.1 Centre for Human Rights, United Nations Offices at Geneva

and New York 484 Address Box 7.2 Electronic resources on Kurdistan, the Kurds, and the

Kurdish language 521 Address Box 7.3 News and/or details about some human rights instruments

Special rights are not privileges but they are granted to make it possible for minorities to preserve their identity, characteristics and traditions. Special rights are just as important in achieving equality of treatment as non-discrimination. Only when minorities are able to use their own languages, benefit from services they have themselves organized, as well as take part in the political and economic life of States can they begin to achieve the status which majorities take for granted. (Human Rights Fact Sheet 18, Minority Rights, United Nations, 1998:4)

7. LINGUISTIC HUMAN RIGHTS

7.1. INTRODUCING LINGUISTIC HUMAN RIGHTS (LHRs)

In this chapter I make several claims and present evidence for these. I claim that despite fine declarations of the intent to promote diversity, including linguistic diversity, the most important linguistic human rights (LHRs) , needed for the maintenance of linguistic diversity, were, until the mid-1990s, absent from binding international human rights instruments, especially in education: mother tongue medium education is not a linguistic human right ( L H R ) . This is not only in conflict with the spirit of the human rights in­ struments, but is also in contrast to how several other human attributes fare in human rights law. Language gets much poorer treatment in human rights instruments than other important human attributes. This is true especially for L H R s in education. There are also clear signs of Western hypocrisy and double standards in relation to human rights in general and specifically L H R s in education. A few recent trends with positive recommendations might give some hope, though, i f one chooses to be optimistic-but mainly still on paper: implementation is still not forthcoming.