Today, the Sub-Committee on the Rights of Minorities of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) organised a hearing to mark the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

Tiny Kox, President of the Parliamentary Assembly, highlighted the importance of this unique legal instrument and reiterated the special role that PACE should play to enhance its visibility. President Kox highlighted his committment to the promotion of the ratification of the Language Charter and will continue this work in his official visits.

Marja Ruotanen, Director General of the Council of Europe Directorate General of Democracy and Human Dignity, presented the last report of the Secretary General on the application of the language Charter to PACE and reminded that this treaty is used today as a benchmark to assess the level of minority language protection in the European states.

Jarmo Lainio, 1st Vice-Chair of the Committee of Experts (COMEX), recalled the importance of transmitting the knowledge of regional and minority languages from one generation to the next. He pointed out the systemic and structural issues generally faced by such languages, particularly in the field of Education, and also presented some new challenges, such as the use of artificial intelligence and the digital divide among languages.

Davyth Hicks, Secretary General of the European Language Equality Network (ELEN) presented the impacts of the Charter in the field, stressing that the Charter lifted languages with no recognition to giving them a status and being monitored to ensure their protection. He also suggested some recommendations to improve the promotion of the languages protected under the Charter.

On 26 April, the Permanent Representation of the United Kingdom organised a reception to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Language Charter. This was the occasion for Ambassador Sandy Moss to reaffirm the attachment and strong support of the United Kingdom to the Charter and the work of the Committee of Experts.