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Es mostren els missatges amb l'etiqueta de comentaris Parlament europeu. Mostrar tots els missatges
Es mostren els missatges amb l'etiqueta de comentaris Parlament europeu. Mostrar tots els missatges
9/09/2018
Un doble càstig a les Europees?
Hi ha, al meu parer, una real possibilitat d'un doble càstig per a Catalunya a les eleccions europees, de les quals poca gent parla de moment.
11/10/2017
"Nacionalismo Exacerbado"
Referències a «nacionalismo exacerbado» al Parlament Europeu (cerca: 10 de novembre de 2017)
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6/08/2016
‘Respectant la diversitat lingüística? La discriminació lingüística a la UE' CATALÀ
Seminari del Parlament Europeu, European Language Equality Network
Dimecres 1 de juny. EP Sala 2Q2
Els drets dels parlants de llengües: revisitant les Recomanacions d'Oslo, de l'OSCE (1998)
Sr Miquel Strubell, Linguapax International
Primer de tot, vull donar les gràcies als organitzadors i patrocinadors per haver fet possible aquest important seminari. Debatem un tema molt greu avui, i no és cap sorpresa la participació de Linguapax Internacional és una organització no governamental basada a Barcelona i dedicada a la valorització i protecció de la diversitat lingüística mundial. Creiem que el foment de l'harmonia entre les comunitats lingüístiques és un factor determinant per a la pau a l'interior dels estats i en la comunitat internacional; i estem convençuts que és urgent posar fi a les pràctiques discriminatòries.
Estarà bé començar els escassos quinze minuts de què disposaré (anant bé) per parlar de “drets lingüístics” i de la “discriminació lingüística”, definint els dos termes.
Un “dret” és la “Facultat d’exigir allò que ens és degut, de fer allò que la llei no defèn, de tenir, exigir, usar, etc., allò que la llei o l’autoritat estableix a favor nostre o ens és permès per qui pot”.
Queda doncs clar que des d'una perspectiva jurídic un dret existeix quan ha estat establert per llei. En aquest cas, el nostre objectiu ha de ser l'exercici d'aquell dret, és clar, i no el dret en si.
Si la “discriminació” és la “infravaloració d’un grup social que en fa un altre, amb el corresponent comportament de segregació”, aleshores en podem concentrar en aquesta infravaloració pel que fa als grups socials que parlen segons quines llengües.
En una reunió organitzada per ELEN, alguns podrien pensar que el principal text de referència sobre els drets lingüístics seria la Carta Europea de les Llengües Regionals o Minoritàries (1992), que va ser decididament promoguda per EBLUL i molts destacats personalitats del moment fins que es va obrir a la signatura i la ratificació. Tot i que és un instrument útil (vegeu, per exemple, les seves conclusions i recomanacions pel que fa a Espanya), no tracta realment dels “drets lingüístics i la discriminació”.
És cert que l'article 6 estableix que
Les parts es comprometen a vetllar perquè les autoritats, organitzacions i persones corresponents siguin informades dels drets i deures establerts per aquesta Carta.
Però en tota la resta del text, només l'article 9.1.a es refereix a “drets”. Diu que les parts es comprometen «a garantir a l’acusat el dret d’expressar-se en la seva llengua regional o minoritària» en causes penals. La Carta no estableix cap altre dret com a tal! De fet, només és al Preàmbul que trobem la referència més sucosa als “drets”:
“Considerant que el dret d’usar una llengua regional o minoritària en la vida privada i pública constitueix un dret imprescriptible, de conformitat amb els principis continguts en el Pacte Internacional relatiu als drets civils i polítics de les Nacions Unides, i de conformitat amb l’esperit de la Convenció de Protecció dels Drets Humans i de les Llibertats Fonamentals del Consell d’Europa...”
Pel que fa a la “discriminació”, l'article 7.2 de la Carta Europea diu que
Les parts es comprometen a eliminar, si encara no ho han fet, tota distinció, exclusió, restricció o preferència injustificades que afectin l’ús d’una llengua regional o minoritària i tinguin per objecte descoratjar o posar en perill el seu manteniment o el seu desenvolupament. [L’adopció de mesures especials en favor de les llengües regionals o minoritàries, destinades a promoure una igualtat entre els parlants d’aquestes llengües i la resta de la població o encaminades a tenir en compte les seves situacions particulars, no és considerada com un acte de discriminació envers els parlants de les llengües més esteses.]
En essència, els drets i la no-discriminació es redueixen a aplicacions específiques de diversos drets universals fixats als instruments internacionals:
• la llibertat de (pensament i) expressió,
• la llibertat d'associació, i
• la igualtat davant la llei,
… sempre en el context de (a) l'objectiu d'assolir el desenvolupament total i lliure de la personalitat humana en condicions d'igualtat; i (b) el fet que el respecte de la dignitat d'una persona està íntimament relacionat amb el respecte de la identitat de la persona i, per tant, de la llengua d'aquesta persona.
Per començar, ens referirem a alguns principis bàsics per a la temàtica d'avui, extrets de diferents instruments internacionals citats principalment a les Recomanacions d'Oslo de les quals parlaré d'aquí a un moment.
«L'article 1 de la Declaració Universal dels Drets Humans fa referència a la dignitat innata de tots els éssers humans i la considera el concepte fonamental que regeix totes les normes relatives als drets humans. L'article 1 de la Declaració afirma que «Tots els éssers humans neixen lliures i iguals en dignitat i en drets...». ...[A]quest article... constitueix un dels pilars dels drets lingüístics de les persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals. La igualtat en dignitat i drets pressuposa el respecte de la identitat dels individus com a éssers humans. La llengua és un dels components més fonamentals de la identitat humana. Per això, el respecte de la dignitat d'una persona està íntimament relacionat amb el respecte de la identitat de la persona i, per tant, de la llengua d'aquesta persona.»
L'article 10(1) del Conveni Marc per a la Protecció de les Minories Nacionals, del Consell d'Europa, estableix que...
Les Parts es comprometen a reconèixer que cada persona pertanyent a una minoria nacional té el dret d'utilitzar lliurement i sense entrebancs la seva llengua minoritària tant en privat com en públic, oralment i per escrit.
La no-discriminació s'estableix clarament al Pacte Internacional de Drets Civils i Polítics (1966) :
Article 2 (1)
Cada Estat part en el present Pacte es compromet a respectar i assegurar a tots els individus dins el seu territori i subjectes a la seva jurisdicció els drets reconeguts en el present Pacte, sense distinció de cap tipus, com ara la raça, color, sexe, idioma, religió, opinió política o d'altra mena, origen nacional o social, posició econòmica, naixement o qualsevol altra condició.
La Nota Explicativa de les Recomanacions d'Oslo de 1998 ens recorda que:
“L'article 19 del Pacte garanteix la llibertat d'expressió, la qual cosa, tal com s'afirma en l'acord, no tan sols garanteix el dret a donar o rebre informació i idees de qualsevol mena, sense tenir en compte les fronteres, sinó que garanteix el dret a fer-ho a través del mitjà o la llengua que s'esculli.
Article 19
1. Tota persona té dret a tenir opinions sense interferència.
2. Tota persona té dret a la llibertat d'expressió; aquest dret comprèn la llibertat de cercar, rebre i difondre informacions i idees de tota índole, sense consideració de fronteres, sigui oralment, per escrit o impreses, en forma d'art, o per qualsevol altre procediment de la seva elecció.
Les Recomanacions d’Oslo també destaquen el fet que “El [Comitè de Ministres del] Consell d'Europa en la seva Declaració sobre la Llibertat d'Expressió i d'Informació (1982) va afirmar la dimensió social d'aquest dret”.
«...la llibertat d'expressió i d'informació és necessària per al desenvolupament social, econòmic, cultural i polític de cada ésser humà, i constitueix una condició per al progrés harmònic dels grups socials i culturals, les nacions i la comunitat internacional. El fet de donar i rebre informació també indica que les persones viuen en una comunitat...»
Queden presentades aquestes qüestions preliminars.
En la meva opinió el document que amb més profunditat tracta amb aquests temes, en el marc del parlants de les llengües «minoritzades» (els termes emprats són ben nombrosos) és Les Recomanacions d'Oslo Relatives als Drets Lingüístics de les Minories Nacionals, text encarregat i adoptat pel l'Alt Comissionat per a les Minories Nacionals de l'OSCE el 1998, i per al qual vaig tenir la fortuna de ser convidat a formar part de l'equip redactor.
Es va redactar poc temps després de les Recomanacions de La Haia Relatives als Drets Educatius de les Minories Nacionals (i Nota explicativa; 1996) de les quals només citaré els dos primers paràgrafs:
1. El dret de les persones de minories nacionals de conservar la seva identitat només es pot realitzar plenament si adquireixen un coneixement adequat de la seva llengua materna durant el procés educatiu. [Al mateix temps, les persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals tenen la responsabilitat d'integrar-se en la societat nacional més àmplia a partir de l'adquisició d'un coneixement adequat de la llengua de l'estat.]
2. En aplicar els instruments internacionals que poden beneficiar les persones de minories nacionals, els estats han de respectar sistemàticament els principis fonamentals d'igualtat i no discriminació.
La idea fonamental que sustenta les Recomanacions d'Oslo és que els instruments internacionals defineixen els drets, i fixen les obligacions, que són d'aplicabilitat universal i per tant també als parlants de les llengües minoritzades, o a membres de les minories nacionals que parlen una llengua diferent de la de l'Estat. Per tant, malgrat el títol, els drets no pertanyen només a aquestes minories.
Cito:
* En la mesura que la normativa existent relativa als drets de les minories forma part dels drets humans, el punt de partida de les consultes realitzades va ser la presumpció de compliment per part dels estats de totes les altres obligacions relacionades amb els drets humans, en concret, la d'igualtat i no-discriminació, la llibertat d'expressió, la llibertat de reunió i associació, com també de tots els drets i llibertats de les persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals.
* També es va pressuposar que la finalitat última de tots els drets humans és el desenvolupament total i lliure de la personalitat humana en condicions d'igualtat. Per això, es va suposar que la societat civil ha de ser oberta i permeable i, per tant, integrar totes les persones, sense oblidar les que pertanyen a minories nacionals.
Donat que l'ús d'una llengua és fonamentalment una qüestió comunicativa, també es va pressuposar la dimensió social essencial de l'experiència humana.
* Les Recomanacions d'Oslo Relatives als Drets Lingüístics de les Minories Nacionals miren d'aclarir, en un llenguatge relativament senzill, en què consisteixen els drets lingüístics minoritaris aplicables de manera general a les situacions en què l'ACMN hi té una funció.
Fixem-nos -i estic segur que no seré l'única persona a subratllar-ho- que els drets no són aplicables a la llengua en si. A més, els drets s'atribueixen a les persones, però no a les minories nacionals com a tals; i això es destaca gràcies a les constants referències a les “persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals”.
Una breu digressió. Quan vaig fer la carrera de psicologia a la universitat, per a mi la paraula “discriminació” tenia un significat neutral, tècnic: “la capacitat de distingir entre diferents estímuls”. En el context present, però, ens referim a un segon significat, més popular: “el tractament injust or amb prejudicis de diferents categories de persones, especialment sobre la base de la raça, l'edat, o el sexe” o la llengua, podem afegir. Quan a les Recomanacions d'Oslo es fa una llista de “la igualtat i l'absència de la discriminació, la llibertat d'expressió [i] la llibertat de reunió i d'associació”, aquests drets aparentment diferenciats es relacionen fortament amb el tema central de la discriminació.
Esperaríem que un document sobre els drets com és el de les Recomanacions d'Oslo s'hi referiria a cadascun dels seus 20 articles. De fet ho fa en només 11. A la resta s'estableixen les conseqüències lògiques per a l'aplicació de cadascun dels drets.
Per raons de temps no passaré a tractar-los d'un en un, sinó que passaré a fer unes consideracions finals.
NOMS
1) Les persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals tenen dret a fer servir el seu nom en la seva llengua, segons les seves tradicions i sistemes lingüístics.
2) De la mateixa manera, les entitats privades, com ara les associacions culturals i les empreses fundades per persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals, també han de gaudir del mateix dret en relació amb la seva denominació.
RELIGIÓ
RELIGIÓ
4) Tota persona té dret a fer servir la seva llengua o les llengües que esculli a l'hora de professar o practicar la seva religió, individualment o col•lectivament.
LA VIDA COL·LECTIVA I LES ONG
LA VIDA COL·LECTIVA I LES ONG
6) Totes les persones, incloses les que pertanyen a minories nacionals, tenen dret a crear i administrar organitzacions, associacions i institucions no governamentals pròpies. Aquestes entitats poden fer servir la llengua o les llengües que vulguin.
ELS MITJANS DE COMUNICACIÓ
8) Les persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals tenen dret a crear i mantenir mitjans de comunicació propis en la seva llengua minoritària.
LA VIDA ECONÒMICA
12) Totes les persones, incloses les que pertanyen a minories nacionals, tenen dret a dirigir empreses privades en la llengua o les llengües de la seva elecció...
12) Totes les persones, incloses les que pertanyen a minories nacionals, tenen dret a dirigir empreses privades en la llengua o les llengües de la seva elecció...
L'ADMINISTRACIÓ I ELS SERVEIS PÚBLICS
13) A les regions i localitats on hi visqui un nombre significatiu de persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals i on s'hagi manifestat un desig en aquest sentit, aquestes persones tenen dret a obtenir de les institucions públiques regionals i locals els certificats i els documents civils tant en la llengua o llengües oficials de l'estat com en la llengua de la minoria nacional en qüestió.
13) A les regions i localitats on hi visqui un nombre significatiu de persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals i on s'hagi manifestat un desig en aquest sentit, aquestes persones tenen dret a obtenir de les institucions públiques regionals i locals els certificats i els documents civils tant en la llengua o llengües oficials de l'estat com en la llengua de la minoria nacional en qüestió.
16) L'estat on visquin les persones que pertanyen a minories nacionals ha de garantir que aquestes persones, a més de disposar de vies judicials apropiades, poden recórrer a institucions nacionals independents, com ara defensors del poble o les comissions de drets humans, en els casos en què considerin que s'han violat els seus drets lingüístics.
17) Totes les persones, incloses les que pertanyen a una minoria nacional, tenen dret a ser informades immediatament, en una llengua que entenguin, dels motius de la seva detenció i de la naturalesa o causa de les acusacions, i a defensar-se en aquesta llengua, amb l'ajuda gratuïta d'un intèrpret si fes falta menester, abans i durant el judici, i en cas d'apel•lació.
18) A les regions i localitats on hi visquin persones que pertanyen a una minoria nacional i on s'hagi manifestat un desig en aquest sentit, les persones que pertanyen a aquesta minoria han de tenir dret a expressar-se en la seva llengua durant els procediments judicials, i amb l'ajuda gratuïta d'un intèrpret o traductor si fes falta.
21) Els retinguts que pertanyin a minories nacionals han de tenir dret a fer servir la llengua que vulguin per comunicar-se amb altres reclusos i altres persones. Sempre que sigui possible, les autoritats han d'adoptar mesures que possibilitin que els presoners es comuniquin en la seva llengua, tant oralment com en la seva correspondència personal, respectant les limitacions establertes per llei.
Conclusions
Les Recomanacions d'Oslo sobre els drets lingüístics de les minories nacionals són tan vàlides avui com ho eren el 1998. La Nota Explicativa adjunta es refereix a tots els instruments internacionals bàsics desenvolupats fins llavors en el camp dels drets humans, i és una valuosa font d'informació de referència. A més, que jo sàpiga, cap altre instrument pertinent, i jurídicament vinculant, ha entrat en vigor des de llavors.
Per tant, us encoratjo a llegir-les i a tenir el text a la tauleta de nit!
Els parlants de llengües “minoritzades" dels els que estem parlant avui són, al capdavall, éssers humans i també europeus. En la mesura que la legislació imposa l'ús d'altres idiomes (per exemple, un bombardeig constant a nivell de la UE, com probablement expliqui la Plataforma), i que hi ha molts exemples de discriminació pública i privada -i fins i tot de prejudici- en contra de la utilització d'aquests llengües, els seus parlants (incloent els aprenents) estan sent tractats com a ciutadans de segona classe. Això simplement no podem acceptar. Com europeus. I com a éssers humans. Gràcies.
‘Respecting Linguistic Diversity? Language Discrimination in the EU' ENGLISH
European Parliament Hearing, European Language Equality Network
Wednesday June 1st. EP Room 2Q2
Ves a la versió catalana.
First of all, I would like to thank the organisers and sponsors for having made this important hearing possible. We are discussing something very serious here today, and it is no surprise that Linguapax International, a non-governmental organization based in Barcelona and dedicated to the promotion and protection of linguistic diversity worldwide, is taking part in it. We believe that fostering harmony between linguistic groups is a crucial factor for peace within states and in the international community; and are convinced that putting an end to discriminatory practices is urgent.
We have to start the fifteen brief minutes I shall have (at best), to talk about «language rights» and about «language discrimination» by defining the two terms.
A «right» is «A moral or legal entitlement to have or do something».
From the latter, legal perspective a right only exists when it has been defined by law. In such a case, we should aim for the exercise of that right, not the right in itself, of course.
If «discrimination» is «The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex», then we can concentrate on such treatment in regard to speakers of different languages.
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At an ELEN-organized meeting, some might think that the main text to refer to on language rights would be the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (1992), which EBLUL and many leading figures of the day pushed for stubbornly until it was opened for signature and ratification. Though it is a useful instrument (see for instance its conclusions and recommendations in regard to Spain), it is not really about “Language Rights and discrimination”. |
Article 6, to be sure, says that |
The Parties undertake to see to it that the authorities, organisations and persons concerned are informed of the rights and duties established by this Charter.
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But in the whole of the rest of the text, only Article 9.1.a refers to “rights”. It says that the parties undertake «to guarantee the accused the right to use his/her regional or minority language / in criminal proceedings. The Charter lays down no other specific rights as such! Indeed, it is only in the Preamble that we find the most substantial reference to «rights»:
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«Considering that the right to use a regional or minority language in private and public life is an inalienable right conforming to the principles embodied in the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and according to the spirit of the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms»...
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As far as «discrimination» is concerned, Article 7, para 2 of the European Charter states that |
The Parties undertake to eliminate, if they have not yet done so, any unjustified distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference relating to the use of a regional or minority language and intended to discourage or endanger the maintenance or development of it. [The adoption of special measures in favour of regional or minority languages aimed at promoting equality between the users of these languages and the rest of the population or which take due account of their specific conditions is not considered to be an act of discrimination against the users of more widely-used languages.]
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In basic terms, rights and non-discrimination boil down to specific applications of several universal rights laid down on international instruments:
… always in the context of (a) the aim of achieving full and free development of the individual human personality in conditions of equality; and (b) the fact that respect for a person's dignity is intimately connected with respect for the person's identity and consequently for the person's language.
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To start with let us refer to several basic tenets of the matter at hand from a number of international instruments, using as the main source the Oslo Recommendations of which I shall speak in a moment. |
“Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights refers to the innate dignity of all human beings as the fundamental concept underlying all human rights standards. Article 1 of the Declaration states "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights...." [T]his article… provides one of the foundations for the linguistic rights of persons belonging to national minorities. Equality in dignity and rights presupposes respect for the individual's identity as a human being. Language is one of the most fundamental components of human identity. Hence, respect for a person's dignity is intimately connected with respect for the person's identity and consequently for the person's language.”
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“Article 10(1) of the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities stipulates that... |
The Parties undertake to recognise 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.
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Non-discrimination is clearly laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966): |
Article 2 (1)
Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
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The Explanatory Note to the 1998 Oslo Recommendations reminds us that |
“Article 19 of the Covenant guarantees freedom of expression which ... not only guarantees the right to impart or receive information and ideas of all sorts, regardless of frontiers, but also guarantees the right to do so in the medium or language of one's choice.”
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[Article 19
1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.]
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The Oslo Recommendations also highlight the fact that “The Council of Europe [Committee of Minister]’s Declaration on Freedom of Expression and Information (1982) affirms the social dimension of this right. |
"...the freedom of expression and information is necessary for the social, economic, cultural and political development of every human being, and constitutes a condition for the harmonious progress of social and cultural groups, nations and the international community. The imparting and receiving of information also suggests people acting in community..."
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So much for these preliminary points.
To my mind the document that most thoroughly deals with these issues, in the framework of the speakers of «minoritised» languages (the terms used are plentiful!) is The Oslo Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities commissioned and adopted by the High Commissioner for National Minorities of the OSCE in 1998, and of which I was fortunate enough to be invited to help draft.
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It came shortly after The Hague recommendations regarding the education rights of national minorities (and explanatory note; 1996) of which I shall quote just the two first paragraphs:
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1. The right of persons belonging to national minorities to maintain their identity can only be fully realised if they acquire a proper knowledge of their mother tongue during the educational process. [At the same time, 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.]
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2. In applying international instruments which may benefit persons belonging to national minorities, States should consistently adhere to the fundamental principles of equality and non-discrimination.
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The basic idea behind the Oslo Recommendations is that international instruments define rights, and fix obligations, that are of universal applicability and therefore also to speakers of minoritised languages, or to members of national minorities that speak a language other than that of the State. So despite the title, the rights do not belong only to such minorities. |
I quote:
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* Insofar as existing standards of minority rights are part of human rights, the starting point for the consultations was to presume compliance by States with all other human rights obligations including, in particular, equality and freedom from discrimination, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and of association, as well as all the rights and freedoms of persons belonging to national minorities.
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* It was also presumed that the ultimate object of all human rights is the full and free development of the individual human personality in conditions of equality.
Consequently, it was presumed that civil society should be open and fluid and, therefore, integrate all persons, including those belonging to national minorities.
Insofar as the use of language is also a fundamentally communicative matter, the essential social dimension of the human experience was also fully presumed.
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* The resultant Oslo Recommendations Regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities attempt to clarify, in relatively straight-forward language, the content of minority language rights generally applicable in the situations in which the HCNM is involved.
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Note – and I'm sure I won't be the only person to point this out – that the rights do not apply to the language as such. Moreover, rights are apportioned to individuals, rather than to the national minorities as such; and this is underlined by constant references to «persons belonging to national minorities».
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A quick aside. When I read Psychology at university, for me the word «discrimination» had a neutral, technical meaning: «The ability to distinguish between different stimuli». In this context, however, we are talking about a second, more popular, meaning: «The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex»... or language, we may add. When the Oslo Recommendations list «equality and freedom from discrimination, freedom of expression [and] freedom of assembly and of association», these apparently distinct rights are all closely related to the central issue of discrimination.
A document on rights such as the Oslo Recommendations might be expected to refer to them in every one of its 20 articles. In fact it only does so in 11 of them. In the rest logical consequences for the application of these rights are laid down.
There is no time to go into them individually, so I shall jump to some final remarks.
- 1) Persons belonging to national minorities have the right to use their personal names in their own language according to their own traditions and linguistic systems.
- 2) Similarly, private entities such as cultural associations and business enterprises established by persons belonging to national minorities shall enjoy the same right with regard to their names.
- 4) Religion: In professing and practising his or her own religion individually or in community with others, every person shall be entitled to use the language(s) of his or her choice.
- 6) All persons, including persons belonging to national minorities, have the right to establish and manage their own non-governmental organisations, associations and institutions.
- 8) Persons belonging to national minorities have the right to establish and maintain their own minority language media.
- 12) All persons, including persons belonging to national minorities, have the right to operate private enterprises in the language or languages of their choice...
- 13) In regions and localities where persons belonging to a national minority are present in significant numbers and where the desire for it has been expressed, persons belonging to this national minority shall have the right to acquire civil documents and certificates both in the official language or languages of the State and in the language of the national minority in question from regional and/or local public institutions.
- 16) States in which persons belonging to national minorities live should ensure that these persons have, in addition to appropriate judicial recourses, access to independent national institutions, such as ombudspersons or human rights commissions, in cases where they feel that their linguistic rights have been violated.
- 17) All persons, including persons belonging to a national minority, have the right to be informed promptly, in a language they understand, of the reasons for their arrest and/or detention and of the nature and cause of any accusation against them, and to defend themselves in this language, if necessary with the free assistance of an interpreter, before trial, during trial and on appeal.
- 18) In regions and localities where persons belonging to a national minority are present in significant numbers and where the desire for it has been expressed, persons belonging to this minority should have the right to express themselves in their own language in judicial proceedings, if necessary with the free assistance of an interpreter and/or translator.
- 21) Detained persons belonging to national minorities shall have the right to use the language of their choice in communications with inmates as well as with others. Authorities shall, wherever possible, adopt measures to enable prisoners to communicate in their own language both orally and in personal correspondence, within the limitations prescribed by law.
The Oslo Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities are as valid today as they were in 1998. The accompanying Explanatory Note refers to all the basic international instruments developed up till then in the field of human rights, and is a valuable source of background information. Moreover, to my knowledge no relevant legally binding instrument has come into force since that time.
So I encourage you to read them, and to keep the text on your bedside table!
The speakers of “minoritised” languages we are talking about today are, after all, both human beings and also Europeans. To the degree that legislation imposes the use of other languages (for instance, a constant bombardment at EU level, as Plataforma will probably explain), and that there are many examples of public and private discrimination – and even prejudice – against the use of these languages, their speakers (including learners) are being treated as second rate citizens. This we simply cannot accept. As Europeans. And as human beings. Thank you.
11/20/2014
"Welsh Civil Society"
Dear Vicepresidents of the European Parliament Sylvie Guillaume (S&D), Ildiko Gall-Pélcz (PPE), Olli Rehn (ALDE), Dimitrios Papadimoulis (GUE), and former president of the European Parliament Enrique Barón Crespo (S&D).
*** CLICK ON "Més informació" BELOW FOR THE TEXT OF THE POST ***
9/23/2014
The Right To Decide
"Civic Engagement on the Road to Self-government"
Contribution of Miquel Strubell to Conference on "The Right to Decide in the 21st Century: Scotland, Catalonia and Beyond". 25 September 2014. Conference organised by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, the European Free Alliance and the Centre Maurits Coppieters. ...
I am most grateful for this invitation, and for the opportunity to explain to this assembly what for me is a unique, unparalleled process to the road towards national independence. I am pleased to convey to you the best wishes of the president of the grassroots organisation I am representing here today, senyora Carme Forcadell. We are really pleased to be able to speak here, not least because of the bizarre things that have been said about us and the process as a whole.
Our process is unique on a number of scores:
The Parliament of Catalonia has on several occasions voted Resolutions (such as R 98/III, on December 12 1989) stating that "Catalonia does not relinquish the right to its self-determination". Again, on October 1 1998, a similar Resolution was adopted.
"Catalunya és una nació", Article 1 of the Draft Statute of Autonomy, adopted on September 2005, reminded us. The Preamble was just as clear: "This Statute is moved by the aspiration, the project and the dream of a Catalonia without any kind of obstacle to the free and full interdependence that a nation needs today ("... mouen aquest Estatut l'aspiració, el projecte i el somni d'una Catalunya sense cap mena d'entrebancs a la lliure i plena interdependència que una nació necessita avui").
However, the Spanish Parliament chopped these texts out of the Statute that it adopted in 2006 and put to the Catalan people.
The "Right to Decide" first appeared on the scene at the end of 2005. The Plataforma pel Dret de Decidir consists of hundreds of organisations supporting the right of self-determination. Shortly after being established, it brought out into the street, beyond its wildest dreams (with hardly any support from institutions or parties), as many as a million Catalans on February 18 2006, to state clearly "We are a Nation, We Have The Right To Decide". It was a call for the September 30 2005 Draft Statute of Autonomy (which received the support of 89% of the Chamber) not to be maimed by the Spanish Parliament. Its call went unheeded, and first the Congress (in 2006) and then the Constitutional Court (in June 2010) in response to an appeal by the People's Party, severely reduced the planned increase in Catalonia's level of self-government.
On July 10 2010 a huge demonstration, which had been planned months ahead (given that news leaked from the Constitutional Court made it clear that their judgment would be a serious cutback in the text of the Statute, which had already been sanctioned by the Catalan people in a referendum) filled the centre of Barcelona. It was organised by a cultural organisation, Omnium Cultural, though with the backing of the three-party Government coalition, which headed the demonstration. Over a million people took part in this march, which simply could not move forward for several hours. It was the last "protest" demonstration, and the following three demonstrations were completely differtent: enthusiastic, looking forward with hope, and positive in outlook.
The Pacte Nacional pel Dret de Decidir, the National Pact for the Right to Decide, consists of hundreds of civil, civic, citizen, cultural, economic, trade union, business organisations; local councils; the parliamentary groups that have given support to the right to decide, and the Government. It first met on June 13 2013. Its manifesto has been signed by over 800 organisations.
The most important grassroots initiative, however, linked up with the "Popular Referenda", following the lead of Arenys de Munt, a medium-sized town about 30 km from Barcelona. These unofficial referenda were held over 500 towns across the country (between September 2009 and April 2011), and about a million people (not a few, in tears) expressed their vote for (in most cases) or against Catalonia's independence. It was during this period that the "Assemblea Nacional Catalana" was devised. When after months of gradually widening an initially very small circle of people invited to join the project, the "Assemblea" was launched on April 30 2011, at the "Conferència Nacional per l'Estat Propi", with a view to holding its first general assembly the following year, and with its sights aimed at a "binding referendum that could be held in 2014". ("amb la mirada fixada en un referèndum vinculant que podria celebrar-se el 2014").
The Assemblea, whose single aim is to achieve the independence of Catalonia, has built up a network of 600 local assemblies (largely in places that had already held popular referenda), which work closely together thanks to the social networks. It has over 70 sectoral assemblies as well, working to persuade collectives close to themn of the advantages of independence. We now have over 70,000 paid-up members and volunteers.
The huge pro-independence demonstration organised by the Assemblea on September 11 2012, just a few months after its formal establishment at the first General Assembly, had immediate political consequences.
The consequences were an early election, sprung by our First Minister, Artur Mas, who included his coalition's election manifesto a commitment to hold a referendum on independence, if at all possible with the consent of the Spanish govenrment. He was returned to power, with a smaller majority, but quickly reached an agrement with the second most voted party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, whose party commitment is to work towards independence. Several other parliamentary parties support the vote to be held on November 9 2014, a vote announced (with the question) in December 2013, to the surprise of the Spanish government.
However, the 2012 demonstration was surpassed by the meticulously organised "Catalan Way", a 400 km-long human chain of over a million people, from one end of Catalonia to the other (with incidents at the Valencian end, because the Spanish civil guard turned a blind eye to a last-minute court ruling). It was held on September 11 2013. Most people were dressed in yellow teashirts, specially made by the Assemblea for the occasion. They signed up on an interactive map, which made sure there was not a single break in the chain, even in the relatively sparsely inhabited Ebro delta district. The chain proved possible thanks to 1500 coaches, hundreds of thousands of cars, trains and in Barcelona, on the underground... In Barcelona, as was to be expected, the chain was overwhelmed by an uncountable number of people. The coverage by the international press was excellent, and the Wall Street Journal's top photo of the year was by Raymond Roig.
On the political front, the Catalan Parliament voted a "Declaration of Sovereignty and the right to Decide of the People of Catalonia" ("Declaració de sobirania i el dret a decidir del poble de Catalunya", 23 January 2013) which was duly judged unconstitutuional (because the Spanish people and "nation" are indivisible) by the Constitutiional Court which, nevertheless, said it was perfectly legitimate for the authorities to ask the Catalan people's opinion on the issue. That is precisely what we are going to do on November 9th, though the Spanish government is adamant that even the law governing non-binding referenda ("consultes" in Catalan) is unconstitutional, in a desperate effort to block the vote.
The "V for will (voluntat), voting and victory" demonstration in Barcelona on September 11 2014, organised by the Catalan National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural. Well over a million people. We formed two Vs, totalling over 11 km in length, and with the nine stripes of the Catalan flag running down the middle of both avenues. We all wore either red or yellow teashirts. There were long queues at each organisation HQ to buy the shirts.
http://www.tv3.cat/videos/5237271/El-millor-de-la-Via-Catalana-2014" (1'56")
The activities of the Assemblea are wholly, and solely, funded by the members' fees and by merchandising (such as teashirts) and services such as the coaches to attend the demonstrations. Nevertheless, time and again most of the Madrid media accuse us of living off Catalan government grants.
We are in the eye of the hurricane. The Assemblea has come to be seen as the essential element of the process, the bottom-up initiative and pressure. As such, a nationalist organisation has called for us to be outlawed and our chair person imprisoned. Our membership lists were stolen by a hacker in April. The published minutes of our Secretariat have been scrutinised in search of statements with which to accuse of of illegal activities. And a highly sophisticated and expensive operation neutralised most of the mobile phones of the Assemblea secretariat and others such as me, from September 10th to 12th. Both cases are in the hands of the police. The Catalan police.
I will not go into a legal discussion of the right to decide, or the flimsy legal grounds that the Spanish government has to try and block our November 9th vote (as already announced, without yet having seen the text of the decree!). Catalan-readers may be interested to hear the views of professor Mercè Barceló (UAB), spokesperson of a group of legal specialists known as Col·lectiu Praga. http://www.ihmarti.cat/2014/02/conversa-amb-merce-barcelo-catedratica.html
And as to opponents of the November 9 vote, here is the shocking, very recent opinion of a Spanish political leader, Rosa Díez MP:
http://player.vimeo.com/video/106815543
Finally, here are two videos. The first is one of the many video productions the Assemblea has made in the last couple of years, aimed at inviting the Catalan people to vote on November 9th (this one is in English):
The second, "Votarem!" (We'll vote!) was made by the "Ateneu Popular La Pioixa", a small organisation run by the young people of Bordils, a village of just 1,700 inhabitants. Let's hope versions subtitled in other languages can be made!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6b7hx1i0og
In conclusion, I call on the members of this Parliament to closely monitor events in Catalonia and Spain. The situation is politically tense, and the SPanish government totally entrenched in its opposition to the Catalans' even exercising their universal right, the freedom of speech. I am sure you have many, many others issues on hand, but the Catalan issue is one of democracy, that ties into the values the defence of which you have been elected to defend and uphold.
Thank you.
Selection of papers, mostly by M. Strubell, on Catalan independence process). http://cv.uoc.edu/~grc0_003638_web/150205_Selection.pdf
Contribution of Miquel Strubell to Conference on "The Right to Decide in the 21st Century: Scotland, Catalonia and Beyond". 25 September 2014. Conference organised by the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, the European Free Alliance and the Centre Maurits Coppieters. ...
I am most grateful for this invitation, and for the opportunity to explain to this assembly what for me is a unique, unparalleled process to the road towards national independence. I am pleased to convey to you the best wishes of the president of the grassroots organisation I am representing here today, senyora Carme Forcadell. We are really pleased to be able to speak here, not least because of the bizarre things that have been said about us and the process as a whole.
Our process is unique on a number of scores:
- a. It has the utter, complete and evident opposition of the central government. As we shall see, this should come as no surprise, as the general perception in wide segments of Catalan society is that the governing party is anti-Catalan (in Catalonia, it came fifth in the European elections) in both attitude and policies. I shall illustrate this later.
- b. It is the result of a vast grassroots reaction, across the country, to the feeling of powerlessness and, for many, as a fight for the survival of the Catalans as a people.
- c. The central government, indeed the power elite as a whole in Madrid, seems to have totally misjudged the whole process.
The Parliament of Catalonia has on several occasions voted Resolutions (such as R 98/III, on December 12 1989) stating that "Catalonia does not relinquish the right to its self-determination". Again, on October 1 1998, a similar Resolution was adopted.
"Catalunya és una nació", Article 1 of the Draft Statute of Autonomy, adopted on September 2005, reminded us. The Preamble was just as clear: "This Statute is moved by the aspiration, the project and the dream of a Catalonia without any kind of obstacle to the free and full interdependence that a nation needs today ("... mouen aquest Estatut l'aspiració, el projecte i el somni d'una Catalunya sense cap mena d'entrebancs a la lliure i plena interdependència que una nació necessita avui").
The "Right to Decide" first appeared on the scene at the end of 2005. The Plataforma pel Dret de Decidir consists of hundreds of organisations supporting the right of self-determination. Shortly after being established, it brought out into the street, beyond its wildest dreams (with hardly any support from institutions or parties), as many as a million Catalans on February 18 2006, to state clearly "We are a Nation, We Have The Right To Decide". It was a call for the September 30 2005 Draft Statute of Autonomy (which received the support of 89% of the Chamber) not to be maimed by the Spanish Parliament. Its call went unheeded, and first the Congress (in 2006) and then the Constitutional Court (in June 2010) in response to an appeal by the People's Party, severely reduced the planned increase in Catalonia's level of self-government.
On July 10 2010 a huge demonstration, which had been planned months ahead (given that news leaked from the Constitutional Court made it clear that their judgment would be a serious cutback in the text of the Statute, which had already been sanctioned by the Catalan people in a referendum) filled the centre of Barcelona. It was organised by a cultural organisation, Omnium Cultural, though with the backing of the three-party Government coalition, which headed the demonstration. Over a million people took part in this march, which simply could not move forward for several hours. It was the last "protest" demonstration, and the following three demonstrations were completely differtent: enthusiastic, looking forward with hope, and positive in outlook.
The Pacte Nacional pel Dret de Decidir, the National Pact for the Right to Decide, consists of hundreds of civil, civic, citizen, cultural, economic, trade union, business organisations; local councils; the parliamentary groups that have given support to the right to decide, and the Government. It first met on June 13 2013. Its manifesto has been signed by over 800 organisations.
The most important grassroots initiative, however, linked up with the "Popular Referenda", following the lead of Arenys de Munt, a medium-sized town about 30 km from Barcelona. These unofficial referenda were held over 500 towns across the country (between September 2009 and April 2011), and about a million people (not a few, in tears) expressed their vote for (in most cases) or against Catalonia's independence. It was during this period that the "Assemblea Nacional Catalana" was devised. When after months of gradually widening an initially very small circle of people invited to join the project, the "Assemblea" was launched on April 30 2011, at the "Conferència Nacional per l'Estat Propi", with a view to holding its first general assembly the following year, and with its sights aimed at a "binding referendum that could be held in 2014". ("amb la mirada fixada en un referèndum vinculant que podria celebrar-se el 2014").
The Assemblea, whose single aim is to achieve the independence of Catalonia, has built up a network of 600 local assemblies (largely in places that had already held popular referenda), which work closely together thanks to the social networks. It has over 70 sectoral assemblies as well, working to persuade collectives close to themn of the advantages of independence. We now have over 70,000 paid-up members and volunteers.
The huge pro-independence demonstration organised by the Assemblea on September 11 2012, just a few months after its formal establishment at the first General Assembly, had immediate political consequences.
The consequences were an early election, sprung by our First Minister, Artur Mas, who included his coalition's election manifesto a commitment to hold a referendum on independence, if at all possible with the consent of the Spanish govenrment. He was returned to power, with a smaller majority, but quickly reached an agrement with the second most voted party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, whose party commitment is to work towards independence. Several other parliamentary parties support the vote to be held on November 9 2014, a vote announced (with the question) in December 2013, to the surprise of the Spanish government.
However, the 2012 demonstration was surpassed by the meticulously organised "Catalan Way", a 400 km-long human chain of over a million people, from one end of Catalonia to the other (with incidents at the Valencian end, because the Spanish civil guard turned a blind eye to a last-minute court ruling). It was held on September 11 2013. Most people were dressed in yellow teashirts, specially made by the Assemblea for the occasion. They signed up on an interactive map, which made sure there was not a single break in the chain, even in the relatively sparsely inhabited Ebro delta district. The chain proved possible thanks to 1500 coaches, hundreds of thousands of cars, trains and in Barcelona, on the underground... In Barcelona, as was to be expected, the chain was overwhelmed by an uncountable number of people. The coverage by the international press was excellent, and the Wall Street Journal's top photo of the year was by Raymond Roig.
On the political front, the Catalan Parliament voted a "Declaration of Sovereignty and the right to Decide of the People of Catalonia" ("Declaració de sobirania i el dret a decidir del poble de Catalunya", 23 January 2013) which was duly judged unconstitutuional (because the Spanish people and "nation" are indivisible) by the Constitutiional Court which, nevertheless, said it was perfectly legitimate for the authorities to ask the Catalan people's opinion on the issue. That is precisely what we are going to do on November 9th, though the Spanish government is adamant that even the law governing non-binding referenda ("consultes" in Catalan) is unconstitutional, in a desperate effort to block the vote.
The "V for will (voluntat), voting and victory" demonstration in Barcelona on September 11 2014, organised by the Catalan National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural. Well over a million people. We formed two Vs, totalling over 11 km in length, and with the nine stripes of the Catalan flag running down the middle of both avenues. We all wore either red or yellow teashirts. There were long queues at each organisation HQ to buy the shirts.
http://www.tv3.cat/videos/5237271/El-millor-de-la-Via-Catalana-2014" (1'56")
The activities of the Assemblea are wholly, and solely, funded by the members' fees and by merchandising (such as teashirts) and services such as the coaches to attend the demonstrations. Nevertheless, time and again most of the Madrid media accuse us of living off Catalan government grants.
The current efforts are concentrated "Ara És l'Hora!" (Now is the time!) campaign for the November 9th Yes vote. It is a joint venture of Omnium Cultural and the Assemblea Nacional Catalana. A hundred thousand volunteers are being sought to go door-by-door, in the lead-up to the vote, to see what the population of Catalonia wants as a future for our country, and hopefully to share their vision.
We are in the eye of the hurricane. The Assemblea has come to be seen as the essential element of the process, the bottom-up initiative and pressure. As such, a nationalist organisation has called for us to be outlawed and our chair person imprisoned. Our membership lists were stolen by a hacker in April. The published minutes of our Secretariat have been scrutinised in search of statements with which to accuse of of illegal activities. And a highly sophisticated and expensive operation neutralised most of the mobile phones of the Assemblea secretariat and others such as me, from September 10th to 12th. Both cases are in the hands of the police. The Catalan police.
I will not go into a legal discussion of the right to decide, or the flimsy legal grounds that the Spanish government has to try and block our November 9th vote (as already announced, without yet having seen the text of the decree!). Catalan-readers may be interested to hear the views of professor Mercè Barceló (UAB), spokesperson of a group of legal specialists known as Col·lectiu Praga. http://www.ihmarti.cat/2014/02/conversa-amb-merce-barcelo-catedratica.html
And as to opponents of the November 9 vote, here is the shocking, very recent opinion of a Spanish political leader, Rosa Díez MP:
http://player.vimeo.com/video/106815543
Finally, here are two videos. The first is one of the many video productions the Assemblea has made in the last couple of years, aimed at inviting the Catalan people to vote on November 9th (this one is in English):
The second, "Votarem!" (We'll vote!) was made by the "Ateneu Popular La Pioixa", a small organisation run by the young people of Bordils, a village of just 1,700 inhabitants. Let's hope versions subtitled in other languages can be made!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6b7hx1i0og
In conclusion, I call on the members of this Parliament to closely monitor events in Catalonia and Spain. The situation is politically tense, and the SPanish government totally entrenched in its opposition to the Catalans' even exercising their universal right, the freedom of speech. I am sure you have many, many others issues on hand, but the Catalan issue is one of democracy, that ties into the values the defence of which you have been elected to defend and uphold.
Thank you.
Selection of papers, mostly by M. Strubell, on Catalan independence process). http://cv.uoc.edu/~grc0_003638_web/150205_Selection.pdf
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