Universal Periodic Review

Ensure financial and other resources for bilingual education of national minorities, in capital and in relevant regions

Proponent:

Remarks to progress by Liga (last modified Dec 31, 2024):

A well-functioning school system in the mother tongue forms the fundamental basis for the existence and further development of ethnic groups. The language of an ethnic group is a central component of its cultural identity, the preservation and appreciation of which the Austrian state has guaranteed in accordance with the Federal Constitution. The federal government and the legislator have a responsibility to ensure that ethnic groups have non-discriminatory access to educational opportunities in their own language.   To date, bilingual education has only been regulated by law in some federal states. However, there are no clear guidelines for important areas of education such as early childhood education, kindergarten care and after-school programmes. In secondary education, the use of the languages of the national minorities is often lost, as there is a lack of appropriate and high-quality bilingual education programmes in many places.    Outside the scope of the minority school laws – especially in Styria and Vienna – the national minority groups are completely excluded from bilingual education in the public school system (website of the Federal Chancellery: here). This recommendation was only noted in the 3rd cycle of the UPR. In the eyes of civil society, it would be desirable to adopt such recommendations in the next cycle and to consider implementing them now.    There is an urgent need to provide financial and other resources. This should ensure that members of ethnic groups not covered by minority school laws have unrestricted access to fair and appropriate bilingual education  This was also called for as an immediate measure by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in its Resolution CM/ResCMN (2023)14 of 13 December 2023 on the implementation by Austria of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (see: https://search.coe.int/cm#{%22CoEIdentifier%22:[%220900001680adcf6e%22],%22sort%22:[%22CoEValidationDate%20Descending%22]}).