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The Celtic League has written to both the European Commission and the Council of Europe (COE) outlining concerns about the attitude of the French government to minority languages.
The move comes following a fairly damning report on France delivered by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights earlier this year. The letter to the European Commission is set out below:
"Jan Figel Commissioner for Education, Training Culture and Youth European Commission BERL 10/38 Rue de la Loi 200 1049 Brussels Belgium 12/10/08
Dear Commissioner,
I read on your web pages that part of your mission statement is to;
"strive to bring about a better understanding of others' cultures and wider recognition of a common heritage, while fully respecting cultural diversity."
With that in mind can I ask what representations, if any, you have made to the French government to prevail upon it to respect the cultural diversity of the indigenous minorities within the current borders of the State?
I refer you to the recent report of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which presented a fairly damning critique of the attitude of the French state to linguistic diversity and inequality in the field of education. I set out below three sections of that report;
30) The Committee notes with concern that significant disparities in terms of school performance and drop out rates continue to exist between French pupils and pupils belonging to racial, ethnic or national minorities, in spite of the efforts made by the State party to address the social and economic inequalities existing in the field of education
29) The Committee remains concerned about the lack of official recognition of minorities within the territory of the State party. With specific regard to cultural rights, the Committee further notes with concern that some of these rights are not respected - such as the right to use a minority language, which can only be exercised in community with other members of the minority group.
30) The Committee notes with concern that the State party has not made sufficient efforts in the field of preservation and promotion of regional and minority languages and cultural heritage. The Committee also notes that the absence of formal recognition of regional and minority languages has contributed to the constant decline in the number of speakers of such languages.
The full report can be found at:
I feel sure that the Commission and your Office will share our concerns and look forward to hearing what initiatives are planned to ensure that France respects the culture and languages of its minorities.
Yours sincerely,
J B Moffatt (Mr)"
The League have also written (in a similar vein) to the Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General, Maud de Boer-Buquicchio, saying:
"I feel sure that the Council of Europe and your Office (which I note also has a particular responsibility for human rights) will share our concerns at the very negative attitude of the French government on the minority languages issue. I look forward to hearing what initiatives are planned to ensure that France respects the culture and languages of its minorities going forward."
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League 10/10/08
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