Address by the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

The address by Rolf Ekéus was delivered at the conference – “Civic Integration in Georgia: Reflections on Problems and Solutions” 

Tbilisi, 25 October 2004

Madam Chairperson,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Permit me to begin by thanking you all for participating in this joint OSCE HCNM-Georgian Parliament Seminar. I also wish to thank you, Madam Chairperson, for your kind words with regard to my activities in Georgia.

The theme of today’s seminar is one of great sensitivity and complexity, but I believe that it is also of great importance for Georgia, and I hope that the discussions will be useful to all of us here.

As you may know, I visited Tbilisi in early March of this year. In the course of my meetings with Speaker Burjanadze and Prime-minister Zurab Zhvania, as well as with other officials, I was very pleased to learn that the new Leadership of Georgia considers the ethnic diversity of Georgia not as a weakness but as one of its strengths.

I welcome the recent statements of President Saakashvili in this regard.  This is an approach which is in line with my philosophy about national minorities and their place in the society. I was informed that the Government of Georgia plans to develop a Civic Integration Programme for the country. I welcome this initiative and have pledged my support for its elaboration and implementation. I regard today’s seminar as a step in this direction.

There is still the perception that granting and, in particular, implementing the rights of persons belonging to national minorities to pursue their own culture and tradition may generate sentiments of separatism, or even conflicts, and therefore the best way to maintain unity is to assimilate them, as well as to limit  their  participation  in economic, social and political life.

I am confident that today’s discussions on best practices of integrating minorities will prove that such a perception is wrong and that the best way to avoid tensions around these issues is to promote their participation in a state which values diversity. 

For those who may not be familiar with my mandate, allow me to clarify it briefly. It is to prevent inter-ethnic conflict and to provide early warning on potentially destabilizing situations involving national minorities. The mandate obligates me to address situations of short-term concern as well as long-term aspects of inter-ethnic relations. The practical philosophy applied to achieve this end is one of integration of different ethnic communities within the State. We should be clear here, however, that integration does not mean the assimilation of minorities nor their separation from society.

Rather, I am trying to find the middle ground, integration in harmony, while respecting their identity. As High Commissioner, I strive to identify the best ways to accommodate the legitimate concerns of majorities and minorities; seeking the means by which they can build the national society together in such a way that the State is the common home for all; where none are treated as second class citizens, and where all accept and welcome diversity.
 
The basis of integration is the twin principles of equality and non-discrimination. By equality we do not mean a sterile measurement of human beings without sensitivity to special needs, or more importantly, cultural differences. Rather, we mean, as Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserts, that “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”

On this basis, it is a human right not to suffer discrimination, in other words, not to be treated in an arbitrary fashion. The composite of rights and freedoms has been spelled out in many instruments, including in the commitments made by all OSCE participating States. Important among these documents are the OSCE’s 1990 Copenhagen Document and the Council of Europe’s 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. These documents provide a comprehensive framework for minority rights protection.
 
According to the Copenhagen Document, persons belonging to national minorities have the right, inter alia: to use freely their mother tongue in private as well as in public; to establish and maintain their own educational, cultural and religious institutions, organizations or associations, to profess and practise their religion, including the acquisition, possession and use of religious materials, and to conduct religious educational activities in their mother tongue; to establish and maintain unimpeded contacts among themselves within their country as well as contacts across frontiers with citizens of other States with whom they share a common ethnic or national origin, cultural heritage or religious belief;  to disseminate, have access to and exchange information in their mother tongue; to establish and maintain organizations or associations within their country and to participate in international non-governmental organizations.

Of course, it is necessary to put these standards into practice. In order to provide some practical guidelines on how to implement these standards, international experts acting under my auspices and those of my predecessor’s have elaborated four sets of recommendations and guidelines. These are The Hague Recommendations Regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities, the Oslo Recommendations Regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities, the Lund Recommendations on the Effective Participation of National Minorities in Public Life and the Guidelines on the Use of Minority Languages in the Broadcast Media.

Of course, integration is not only a matter of respect for minority rights. Minority members too have duties and responsibilities. They should respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the State.
 
Over the past decade, more States have shown an interest in bringing their legislation and practices into line with international standards, either through the adoption of minority provisions in a cluster of laws or through comprehensive framework laws. This is increasingly the case for States in post-Communist transition, including Georgia, which have signed or ratified more than 30 international instruments on human rights, inter alia, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR), etc.

We particularly appreciate the ratification by Georgia of the Protocol 12 to the Convention for Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in June 2001. Georgia should also be encouraged to ratify the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities.

In this context I would also like to recall that Georgia, upon its accession to the Council of Europe, inter alia, committed itself to adopt a law on national minorities. I understand that a Draft Law on national minorities will be prepared soon by the newly elected Parliament. I am prepared to share the expertise and experience of my Office in assisting and advising the Georgian Parliament in the process of elaboration of such a law.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Integration of minorities, and thereby the reduction of tensions and the prevention of conflict involving national minorities, can take many forms. It can include assisting governments with drafting minority-related legislation, encouraging language training programmes, and offering advice on integration strategies.  In Georgia, as you may know, I have been paying special attention to the Samtskhe-Javakheti Region, where, in the Javakheti area, ethnic Armenians represent 95% of the population  and feel isolated from the rest of the country.

In order to support the integration of this region and its population into the whole of Georgia, I have been implementing a Conflict Prevention and Integration Programme for Samtskhe-Javakheti since the beginning of 2003, focusing on education, media issues and legal assistance. More than 10 projects are now in the process of implementation.

I believe that a central component of integration strategies is to teach minorities the State language. A high level of proficiency in the State language is an essential component of an integration strategy in order to enable minority members to make their full contribution to the political and economic life of the State.

As High Commissioner, I have been involved in a range of activities in different OSCE participating states designed to assist governments in the field of education. My engagement has involved support for the development of pluralism in the curricula, for the provision of diversity in textbooks, and for assisting teachers to develop new skills appropriate for working in multicultural contexts. I have also offered encouragement for the development of materials that reflect the views of all groups in society and to initiatives that seek to raise awareness from an early age on the need for mutual respect and understanding of other cultures. 

At present, I support projects in Estonia, Latvia, Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova to assist persons belonging to minorities to improve their knowledge of the State language. Concrete examples of projects in Georgia are the teaching of the State Language to civil servants and to university students, whose mother tongue is Armenian, to improve their language proficiency in Georgian. While investment in linguistic skills will facilitate communication with Central government in the State language for civil servants, it will assist Armenian-speaking students to pursue careers in Georgian universities, and, thereby, contribute to their integration into Georgian society.

Recently, I have learned with satisfaction that the Ministry of Education of Georgia is elaborating a comprehensive programme to promote the knowledge and use of the State language in the schools attended by national minorities.  I believe that the government has the right to conduct reforms of strengthening the education in minority schools and that persons belonging to national minorities have a responsibility to integrate into the wider national society through the acquisition of a proper knowledge of the State language. I am greatly encouraged by the Ministry of Education’s endeavour and I would like to take this opportunity to express my readiness to support its initiative.

However, I would like to emphasise that my experience confirms that such programmes require the positive engagement of the authorities and population, as well as the inclusion of minority members in planning and decision making, for instance, in the drawing up of the curricula, and are successful only when they are implemented taking into consideration international norms and practices.

Mr. Chairman, integration may be best achieved through a certain degree of decentralization. Public administration reform which devolves particular responsibilities to regional and local authorities may be the most expedient way to allow for the flourishing of cultural specificities and regional identities. Decentralization can also be particularly useful in facilitating the local use of minority languages.

I would also like to emphasise that the cost of failing to integrate persons belonging to national minorities is high. Lack of integration can lead not only to dissatisfaction among a particular section of society, but even to consequences that may affect domestic or international security. Sometimes even small groups can be the source of conflict. This can also be exacerbated by the potential interference of a kin-State, or elements thereof – whether in close proximity geographically or further away.

In order to avoid such a situation in Georgia, a policy to support stronger integration of the regions compactly populated by national minorities into Georgian society is needed.  Such a policy should, inter alia, envisage improvement in the social-economic situation and more opportunities for economic development, more extensive Georgian language training, and enhancement of information flow between the Centre and the regions.

In conclusion, the best way to create a harmonious, prosperous and dynamic society is to acknowledge and respect existing pluralism and to seek to integrate diversity within the State.  When integrating various groups within the wider society it is necessary to pursue equality, not in terms of sameness, but in terms of meaningful opportunities.  This requires an attitude of mutual respect on the part of both majority and minorities. 

It also requires a rejection of any policy which protects and promotes the interest of one group at the expense of another.  Governments should create the conditions in which minorities are afforded an opportunity to be full and active members of society. Minorities should take advantage of these opportunities in such a way that allows them to fully enjoy their rights while honouring their obligations as members of the common State. In this way, people will be able to pursue their particular interests while contributing to the common good.

Thank you.