Strasbourg, 9 April 2009 ACFC/SR/III(2009)003 THIRD REPORT SUBMITTED BY GERMANY PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 25, PARAGRAPH 1 OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES (Received on 9 April 2009) 2 Third Report of the Federal Republic of Germany under Article 25 paragraph 2 of the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities February 2009 L:\Europarat\Abkommen des Europarats\Rahmenübereinkommen\Staatenbericht 3\090331 Staatenbericht3 Rähmenübereinkommen Fassung Engl2 -2762-gesamt-EN.doc 1 Contents Part A Introduction No. Page A.1 General situation 001 23 A.2 Application of the Framework Convention 004 in Germany A.2.1 Scope of application 004 A.2.2 Compliance with the reporting obligations 0012 under the Framework Convention A.2.3 Public information regarding the 0020 Framework Convention A.2.4 Participation of the Bund, Länder and 0022 national minorities A.3 General conditions applying to national 0027 minorities in Germany A.3.1 State structure 0027 A.3.2 Population 0028 A.3.3 Key figures on the economy 0029 A.3.4 Legal framework regarding protection of 0030 persons belonging to national minorities A.3.5 Specific information on the various national 0031 minorities in Germany A.3.5.1 The Danish minority 0031 A.3.5.2 The Sorbian people 0035 A.3.5.3 The ethnic group of Frisians in Germany 0037 2 No. Page A.3.5.4 The German Sinti and Roma 0049 A.3.6 Overlapping of settlement areas common 0057 to national minorities in Schleswig-Holstein Part B Protection of national minorities under the various Articles of the Framework Convention Article 1 (Protection of minorities as an integral 22 part of the protection of human rights within the scope of international cooperation) B.1.1 International instruments for the protection 01001 of minorities applicable in Germany B.1.2 Protection of minorities under the national 01012 legal system Article 2 (Interpretation of the Framework 00201 48 Convention) Article 3 B.3.1 Paragraph 1 49 (Freedom to decide on the affiliation with a national minority) B.3.1.1 The freedom to decide whether the group of 03001 the population with which one identifies should be designated as a national minority B.3.1.2 The freedom to choose to be treated or not 03003 to be treated as a member of a national minority 3 No. Page B.3.1.3 Safeguards of the legal system to protect 03004 the right to freely identify oneself with a minority B.3.2 Paragraph 2 03008 (Entitlement to exercise rights individually as well as in community with others) Article 4 B.4.1 Paragraph 1 52 (Prohibition of discrimination) B.4.1.1 Societal purport of the prohibition of 04001 discrimination B.4.1.2 Safeguards in the legal system to enforce 04002 the prohibition of discrimination B.4.2 Article 4 (2) 04020 (Obligation to promote equal opportunities) B.4.2.1 General principles 04020 B.4.2.2 Equality in all areas of economic, social, 04022 political and cultural life B.4.2.3 Measures to promote equality, even without 04041 statistical data B.4.2.4 Supporting equality through financial 04052 equalisation for structurally weak areas B.4.3 Article 4 (3) 04055 (Clarification that promoting equality is not discriminatory) 4 No. Page Article 5 B.5.1 Paragraph 1 70 (Promoting the culture and preserving the identity of national minorities) B.5.1.1 Support based on needs, in accordance 05001 with the federal structure of the Federal Republic B.5.1.2 Article 2 of the Basic Law as the basis for 05006 preserving culture and identity B.5.1.3 Conditions for preserving the religion of 05007 national minorities B.5.1.4 Conditions for preserving the languages of 05908 national minorities B.5.1.5 Conditions for preserving culture and 05016 traditions B.5.1.6 Institutional infrastructure for promoting the 05021 culture and preserving the identity of national minorities B.5.1.6.1 Bodies at federal and Länder level 05022 B.5.1.6.2 Government agencies, other public authorities, and commissioners B.5.1.6.2.1 Federal level 05023 B.5.1.6.2.2 Land level 05028 B.5.1.6.2.3 Agencies at the regional level 05031 B.5.1.6.3 Councils, institutions, and/or round tables at 05036 the federal level 5 No. Page B.5.1.6.4 Bodies at Land level 05038 B.5.1.7 Support policy 05040 B.5.1.7.1 Support policy for the Danish minority 05049 B.5.1.7.2 Support policy for the Sorbian people B.5.1.7.2.1 Institutional infrastructure for support for the 05058 Sorbian people B.5.1.7.2.2 Fields of support for the Sorbian people 05068 B.5.1.7.2.3 The tension between maintaining and 05079 preserving Sorbian culture and identity, and open-cast lignite quarrying B.5.1.7.3 Support policy for the Frisian ethnic group 05080 B.5.1.7.3.1 Institutional infrastructure for support for the 05082 Frisian ethnic group B.5.1.7.3.2 Fields of support for the Frisian ethnic 05085 group B.5.1.7.4 Support policy for the German Sinti and 05097 Roma B.5.1.7.4.1 Institutional infrastructure for support for the 05098 German Sinti and Roma B.5.1.7.4.2 Fields of support for the German Sinti and 05110 Roma Specific support provided by the Länder for 05116 the Sinti and Roma 6 No. Page B.5.2 Article 5 (2) 05125 (Protecting persons belonging to national minorities from assimilation against their will) Article 6 B.6.1 Paragraph 1 102 (Encouraging a spirit of tolerance and promoting understanding among all groups of the population) B.6.1.1 General conditions and institutional 06001 infrastructure as regards the promotion of tolerance and understanding among all groups of the population B.6.1.2 Areas for encouraging a spirit of tolerance 06017 and promoting understanding among all groups of the population B.6.1.2.1 Encouraging tolerance and promoting 06022 understanding among all groups of the population under the programmes of the Agencies for Civic Education B.6.1.2.2 Encouraging tolerance and promoting 06038 understanding among all groups of the population in schools, early childhood care and education B.6.1.2.3 Encouraging tolerance and promoting 06049 understanding among all groups of the population in culture B.6.1.2.4 Encouraging tolerance and promoting 06050 understanding among all groups of the population in broadcasting 7 No. Page B.6.1.2.5 Encouraging tolerance and promoting 06056 understanding among all groups of the population in print media B.6.2 Article 6 (2) (Protection of persons belonging to national minorities against threats or acts of hostility or violence) B.6.2.1 Present state of affairs 06064 B.6.2.2 Protective regulations 06078 B.6.2.3 Protection of persons belonging to national 06079 minorities against threats or acts of hostility or violence by means of civic education and promotion of intellectual engagement B.6.2.3.1 Educational measures taken by the Federal 06101 Government for the protection of persons belonging to national minorities against threats or acts of hostility or violence B.6.2.3.2 Educational measures taken by the Länder 06108 for the protection of persons belonging to national minorities against threats or acts of hostility or violence Article 7 (Granting the freedom of peaceful 133 assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion) B.7.1 Legal bases of freedom of peaceful 07001 assembly, freedom of association, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion 8 No. Page B.7.2 Extent to which members of national 07005 minorities make use of freedom of assembly and freedom of association B.7.2.1 Associations of the Danish minority 07009 B.7.2.2 Sorb associations 07014 B.7.2.3 Frisian associations 07015 B.7.2.4 Associations of the German Sinti and Roma 07018 Article 8 (Freedom of faith and of conscience, and 138 freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, as well as the undisturbed practice of religion for members of a national minority) B.8.1 Legal bases, freedom of faith, freedom of 08001 conscience, freedom to profess one’s beliefs, and freedom of worship B.8.2 Religious affiliation of persons belonging to 08006 national minorities B.8.2.1 Religious affiliation of the Danish minority 08007 B.8.2.2 Religious affiliation of the Sorbs 08008 B.8.2.3 Religious affiliation of the Frisians 08016 B.8.2.4 Religious affiliation of the German Sinti and 08017 Roma 9 No. Page Article 9 B.9.1 Article 9 (1) 142 (Obligation to recognize the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas also in cross- border exchanges and to ensure that national minorities are not discriminated against in their access to the media) B.9.1.1 General legal bases of freedom of 09001 expression and information B.9.1.2 Specific legal bases of freedom of the 09003 press and freedom of broadcasting B.9.1.2.1 Participation of representatives of national 09009 minorities in media supervisory bodies B.9.1.2.2 Calls to expand access to broadcasting for 09022 Danes and Frisians B.9.2 Article 9 (2) 09027 (Clarification: The non-discriminatory licensing procedure does not contravene the obligation to provide for non-discriminatory access to the media for persons belonging to national minorities) B.9.3 Article 9 (3) (Obligation not to interfere with national minorities’ creation of printed media and to support the creation of their own broadcasting media) B.9.3.1 The possibility of creating and using 09030 broadcasting media 10 No.