Strasbourg, 22 April 2010

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES Strasbourg, 13 May 2016 Working document Compilation of Opinions of the Advisory Committee relating to Article 6 of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (3rd cycle) “Article 6 1. The Parties shall encourage a spirit of tolerance and intercultural dialogue and take effective measures to promote mutual respect and understanding and co-operation among all persons living on their territory, irrespective of those persons’ ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity, in particular in the fields of education, culture and the media. 2. The Parties undertake to take appropriate measures to protect persons who may be subject to threats or acts of discrimination, hostility or violence as a result of their ethnic, cultural, linguistic or religious identity.” Note: this document was produced as a working document only and does not contain footnotes. For publication purposes, please refer to the original opinions. Third cycle - Art 6 Table of contents 1. Albania Opinion adopted on 23 November 2011 .................................................................4 2. Armenia Opinion adopted on 14 October 2010....................................................................7 3. Austria Opinion adopted on 28 June 2011............................................................................8 4. Azerbaijan Opinion adopted on 10 October 2012 ..............................................................12 5. Bosnia and Herzegovina Opinion adopted on 7 March 2013 .............................................14 6. Bulgaria Opinion adopted on 11 February 2014.................................................................17 7. Croatia Opinion adopted on 27 May 2010 .........................................................................20 8. Cyprus Opinion adopted on 19 March 2010.......................................................................23 9. Czech Republic Opinion adopted on 1 July 2011 ................................................................29 10. Denmark Opinion adopted on 31 March 2011...................................................................31 11. Estonia Opinion adopted on 1 April 2011...........................................................................35 12. Finland Opinion adopted on 14 October 2010....................................................................38 13. Germany Opinion adopted on 27 May 2010 ......................................................................42 14. Hungary Opinion adopted on 18 March 2010 ....................................................................46 15. Ireland Opinion adopted on 10 October 2012....................................................................48 16. Italy Opinion adopted on 15 October 2010 ........................................................................52 17. Kosovo* Opinion adopted on 6 March 2013 ......................................................................60 18. Liechtenstein Opinion adopted on 26 June 2009 ...............................................................63 19. Lithuania Opinion adopted on 28 November 2013.............................................................67 20. Malta Opinion adopted on 11 October 2012......................................................................70 21. Moldova Opinion adopted on 26 June 2010.......................................................................71 22. Norway Opinion adopted on 30 June 2011 ........................................................................74 23. Poland Opinion adopted on 28 November 2013 ................................................................76 24. Portugal Opinion adopted on 4 December 2014 ................................................................80 25. Romania Opinion adopted on 21 March 2012....................................................................84 26. Russian Federation Opinion adopted on 24 November 2011.............................................86 27. San Marino Opinion adopted on 26 June 2009...................................................................94 28. Serbia Opinion adopted on 28 November 2013 .................................................................96 29. Slovak Republic Opinion adopted on 28 May 2010..........................................................101 30. Slovenia Opinion adopted on 31 March 2011 ..................................................................104 31. Spain Opinion adopted on 22 March 2012.......................................................................109 32. Sweden Opinion adopted on 23 May 2012 ......................................................................115 33. Switzerland Opinion adopted on 5 March 2013...............................................................117 34. “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” Opinion adopted on 30 March 2011 ......119 35. Ukraine Opinion adopted on 22 March 2012 ...................................................................122 36. United Kingdom Opinion adopted on 30 June 2011.........................................................126 As of 13 May 2016, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities had a total of 36 opinions, of which 36 opinions on Article 6. * All reference to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text shall be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 and without prejudice to the status of Kosovo. 2 Third cycle - Art 6 NOTE Based on the information currently at its disposal, the Advisory Committee considers that implementation of certain articles does not give rise to any specific observations. This statement is not to be understood as signalling that adequate measures have now been taken and that efforts in this respect may be diminished or even halted. On the contrary, the nature of the obligations of the Framework Convention requires a sustained and continued effort by the authorities to respect the principles and achieve the goals of the Framework Convention. Furthermore, a certain state of affairs may be considered acceptable at one stage but that need not necessarily be so in further cycles of monitoring. It may also be the case that issues that appear at one stage of the monitoring to be of relatively minor concern prove over time to have been underestimated. 3 Third cycle - Art 6 1. Albania Opinion adopted on 23 November 2011 Article 6 of the Framework Convention Tolerance and intercultural dialogue Recommendation from the two previous cycles of monitoring In the previous cycles of monitoring, the Advisory Committee called on the authorities to take additional measures to tackle incidents of intolerance and hostility, in particular against the Roma, by raising awareness of the needs of these communities, in particular among professional groups, such as law enforcement officers, the judiciary and the media. Present situation The Advisory Committee notes that a climate of respect and tolerance generally prevails in Albania and that the representatives of national minorities reported that incidents of racist or ethnic intolerance were rare. The Advisory Committee notes with deep concern the arson attack against Roma dwellings inhabited by some 40 families in central Tirana in February 2011 which resulted in some serious injuries and the displacement of large numbers of people, including many children (see also the comment under Article 4 above). The victims were made homeless by the attack and have not yet been provided with appropriate housing. At the time of the visit of the Advisory Committee, they were living in tents, in spite of repeated promises that they would be given appropriate housing before the onset of winter. The situation of the arson victims was exacerbated by the fact that they were settled temporarily in the outskirts of the city, without adequate access to schools and employment. It is of particular concern to the Advisory Committee that law enforcement bodies did not take the necessary steps to protect the victims of this attack. For example, at the time of the Advisory Committee’s visit, their complaints had not been properly registered, investigations of the crimes committed had not been carried out and the court’s final verdict was still pending. Such an attitude on the part of the police indicates their apparent lack of awareness of anti-discrimination issues and even racial prejudice. The Advisory Committee is also concerned by information provided by the Roma representatives that, in the tests they had conducted, Roma had been victims of discrimination due to refusal of admission to some public places, whereas non-Roma had faced no such difficulties. In this context, the Advisory Committee notes that, in the absence of comprehensive statistics on crimes motivated by racial hatred, it is difficult for the authorities to take effective preventive measures and to devise strategies for combating offences committed through racial or xenophobic motives. 4 Third cycle - Art 6 Recommendations The Advisory Committee urges the authorities to ensure that more vigorous, speedy and effective action is taken to prevent, investigate and prosecute perpetrators of offences committed through racial or xenophobic motives and to provide for constant monitoring of this phenomenon within society. The authorities should intensify their efforts to adopt awareness-raising measures on tolerance and anti-discrimination

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