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Wheatley, Jonathan www.ssoar.info Implementing the framework convention for the protection of national minorities in Georgia: a feasibility study Wheatley, Jonathan Arbeitspapier / working paper Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Wheatley, J. (2006). Implementing the framework convention for the protection of national minorities in Georgia: a feasibility study. (ECMI Working Paper, 28). Flensburg: European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI). https://nbn- resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-63072 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer Deposit-Lizenz (Keine This document is made available under Deposit Licence (No Weiterverbreitung - keine Bearbeitung) zur Verfügung gestellt. Redistribution - no modifications). 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Implementing the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in Georgia: A Feasibility Study Jonathan Wheatley ECMI Working Paper #28 October 2006 EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR MINORITY ISSUES (ECMI) Schiffbruecke 12 (Kompagnietor) D-24939 Flensburg Germany +49-(0)461-14 14 9-0 fax +49-(0)461-14 14 9-19 Internet: http://www.ecmi.de ECMI Working Paper #28 European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) Director: Marc Weller Copyright 2006 European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) Published in October 2006 by the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) 2 Table of Contents I. Introduction ...........................................................................................................4 II. Background ..........................................................................................................5 1. Recent History......................................................................................................................5 2. Implementation of the FCNM: Procedures and Institutional Framework..........................15 III. Areas of Relevance .............................................................................................18 1. Definition of Minorities......................................................................................................18 2. Minorities in Public Administration...................................................................................22 3. Minorities and Education ...................................................................................................29 4. Access to Information for National Minorities (Media).....................................................37 5. Economic Opportunities for National Minorities...............................................................40 6. Minority Family Names and Toponyms.............................................................................42 7. Culture and Religion...........................................................................................................44 8. Rule of Law ........................................................................................................................50 IV Conclusion ..........................................................................................................53 Appendix: National Minorities Living in Georgia .......................................................54 1. Azeris..................................................................................................................................54 2. Armenians...........................................................................................................................55 3. Russians..............................................................................................................................56 4. Ossetians.............................................................................................................................57 5. Kurds/Yezids ......................................................................................................................59 6. Greeks.................................................................................................................................60 7. Kists....................................................................................................................................61 8. Ukrainians...........................................................................................................................62 9. Jews ....................................................................................................................................62 10. Abkhaz..............................................................................................................................62 11. Assyrians ..........................................................................................................................63 12. Others ...............................................................................................................................63 3 I. INTRODUCTION On being formally admitted to the Council of Europe in April 1999, Georgia pledged to sign and ratify both the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) and the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages within a year of its accession and to adopt a law on minorities based on the principles of Assembly Recommendation 1201 (1993). After long delays, the Georgian Parliament finally approved the FCNM at its final reading on 13 October 2005, formal ratification took place on 22 December and the Convention entered into force on 1 April 2006. Georgia is yet to sign and ratify the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages and has still not adopted a law on minorities. According to Article 25.1 of the FCNM, all signatories to the Convention must present a first state report ‘containing full information on the legislative and other measures taken to give effect to the principles set out’ within twelve months of its entering into force. Thus, Georgia is obliged to present its First State Report by 1 April 2007 at the latest. It is the aim of this paper to assist the Georgian government in the process of drafting the state report by drawing attention to those articles of the FCNM which have yet to take effect. The paper is divided into three sections. The first part will review the process leading up to the formal ratification of the FCNM and will provide a series of explanations for the delays in ratification. It will then go on to outline the Georgian government’s plans to implement the FCNM and the institutions that will be involved in this process. The second part will highlight particular areas which the government will need to focus upon as it implements the treaty, namely: the definition of what constitutes a national minority, minorities in public administration, education, economic opportunities, media and access to information, minority family names and toponyms, culture and religion, and the rule of law. These areas partly correspond to competences of five working groups that have already been set up by the government under the office of the State Minister for Civil Integration to inform the process of implementation (see below), although additional topics have been added. The final section, the conclusion, will then draw the strands together and attempt to identify the key challenges Georgian government and Georgian society faces as it adopts the FCNM. At the end of the paper the Appendix gives an overview of all national minorities living in Georgia. 4 II. BACKGROUND 1. Recent History Throughout its history, Georgia has been home to a highly diverse population. Falling under the sway of the Byzantine, Ottoman, Persian and Russian empires, the country has been subject to successive waves of migration and has suffered disproportionately from population displacement and even ethnic cleansing. As of today, the most numerous national minorities are Azeris, Armenians, Russians, Abkhazians, Ossetians, Kurds (Yezids) and Greeks in that order. As well as these relatively large minorities, there are also populations of smaller minorities such as Kists, Ukrainians, Assyrians and Jews. After the wars of 1991-93, which saw the de facto secession of the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia and the former Autonomous oblast (region) of South Ossetia, the Abkhaz and Ossetian populations have remained largely confined to the two breakaway regions. Figure 1 shows the composition of the population as revealed by successive
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