Sweden’s report on the Council of Europe Charter for Regional or Minority Languages presented in accordance with Article 15 of the Charter, third Periodical Report 2 Foreword In Sweden’s view the right to use minority languages both privately and in public is an integral part of the international protection for human rights. Sweden ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages on 9 February 2000 and the charter came into force in Sweden on 1 June the same year. The Sami language was spoken in Sweden long before the country became a nation state. Finnish and Meänkieli have been spoken in Sweden for a very long time as well. Speakers of Romani Chib and Yiddish have been in Sweden since the 16th and 17th century respectively. The recognition of these languages as national minority languages in Sweden is an expression of them being an integral part of Sweden’s cultural heritage and of the need to create the conditions needed to be able to preserve them as living languages in the country. For the goals of the Government’s minorities policy to be fulfilled, the needs and interests of national minorities must be considered in all parts of the country and in all areas of society. This is true for central agencies, as well as for regional and local authorities. For languages to be able to develop and survive, they need to be used. For cultures to be enriched and contribute to social development, they need space. It is my hope that Sweden’s policy on national minorities is supporting such a development for the national minorities and the minority languages. Sweden hereby submits its third report on the measures implemented up until 1 September 2007 to fulfil the country’s undertakings in accordance with the Council of Europe’s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. The report has been set out and the answers given in accordance with the instructions specified by the Council of Europe in its general guidelines. The report discusses the measures implemented and the changes that have occurred since Sweden submitted its last report. It also tries to reply to the comments made and questions asked by the Council of Europe in its reports about Sweden. An account of the measures implemented is given article by article. Stockholm, 20 September 2007 Nyamko Sabuni Minister responsible for Sweden’s policy on national minorities 3 4 Contents PRELIMINARY SECTION .......................................................................... 5 PART I......................................................................................................... 11 PART II ....................................................................................................... 26 PART III ...................................................................................................... 69 Language: SAMI ..................................................................................... 69 Article 8 – Education......................................................................... 69 Article 9 – Judicial authorities ......................................................... 76 Article 10 – Administrative authorities and public services.......... 80 Article 11 – Media.............................................................................. 85 Article 12 – Cultural activities and facilities................................... 87 Article 13 – Economic and social life ............................................... 92 Article 14 – Transfrontier exchange ................................................ 93 Language: FINNISH................................................................................ 96 Article 8 – Education......................................................................... 96 Article 9 – Judicial authorities ....................................................... 100 Article 10 – Administrative authorities and public services........ 103 Article 11 – The media .................................................................... 105 Article 12 – Cultural activities and facilities................................. 108 Article 13 – Economic and social life ............................................. 112 Article 14 – Transfrontier exchange .............................................. 112 Language: MEÄNKIELI ....................................................................... 114 Article 8 – Education....................................................................... 114 Article 9 – Judicial authorities ....................................................... 117 Article 10 – Administrative authorities and public services........ 120 Article 11 – Media............................................................................ 121 Article 12 – Cultural activities and facilities................................. 124 Article 13 – Economic and social life ............................................. 126 Article 14 – Transfrontier exchange .............................................. 127 APPENDICES ........................................................................................... 128 Appendix 1, ratified articles .................................................................. 128 Appendix 2, Relevant Swedish legislation............................................ 130 Appendix 3, Summary of comments made by national minority organisations.......................................................................................... 168 5 PRELIMINARY SECTION 1. Please provide the necessary background such as the relevant historical development in the country, an overview of the demographic situation with reference to the basic economic data for the regions, as well as information on the constitutional and administrative structure of the state. Historical background Sweden’s ethnic and cultural diversity has a long historical tradition. Several groups have been minorities in Sweden for a very long time and they have actively defended their respective cultures and languages, which today constitute a living part of Swedish society. The groups in Sweden that are now recognised as national minorities are: the Jews; the Roma; the Sami, which is also an indigenous people; the Sweden-Finnish population and the Tornedalers. These groups have lived in Sweden for a very long period of time and have a religious, linguistic or cultural affiliation as well as a desire to preserve their identity. They all make use of their language and in some cases the languages have several varieties. Sweden’s constitutional and administrative structure Sweden has three democratically elected levels of government: the Riksdag (Swedish parliament) at the national level; the county councils at the regional level; and the municipalities at the local level. They each have different tasks and spheres of responsibility. Elections to the Riksdag, county council and municipality assemblies are held every fourth year on the same day. The division of responsibility between the state, the county councils and the municipalities is determined by the Riksdag by law. The Sameting (the Sami parliament) is the Sami population’s own democratically elected body as well as a Swedish central agency. Elections to the Sami parliament are held every fourth year and Sami people who are registered on the Sami electoral register are eligible to vote. Demographic situation Quarterly, half-yearly and annual statistics on the population of Sweden are compiled by the national statistics agency, Statistics Sweden. Population statistics are presented in three sub-groups. The first includes population broken down by e.g. sex, age, citizenship and country of birth. The second describes population changes, e.g. migrations, births and deaths. And finally, future population trends are forecasted. Sweden does not compile official statistics on people’s ethnic belonging, however, apart from their citizenship and country of birth, since there are no methods of calculating ethnic background that are both ethically acceptable and scientifically reliable. It is hence impossible for Sweden to submit statistical data on its national minorities. According to the 6 Personal Data Act (1998:204)1, it is prohibited to process personal information that reveals a person’s race, ethnic origin or religion/belief. It is worth remembering in this context that Sweden is a large country with a small population (9 127 058 on 31 March 2007). The population is not evenly spread over the entire country. Instead, half of the population is concentrated in just 3% of the country’s surface area. Today, eight out of ten live in the south of the country and most of these live in the metropolitan areas around the capital, Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö. The rural population, particularly in the northern two-thirds of the country, is extremely sparse. In Norrbotten, the northernmost county, there are about three inhabitants to every square kilometre, compared to Stockholm, where the corresponding figure is approximately 253. 2. Please indicate all regional or minority languages, as defined in paragraph a of Article 1 of the Charter which exist on your State’s territory. Indicate also the parts of the territory of your country where the speakers of such languages(s) reside. Sami The Sami language consists of several varieties, three of which are spoken in Sweden (North Sami, Lule Sami and South Sami). When Sweden ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, all of these varieties were recognised as part of the Sami language. An area stretching from Idre in Dalarna county