THE FOURTH PERIODIC REPORT OF FINLAND ON THE APPLICATION OF THE EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES SEPTEMBER 2010 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................. 1 GENERAL PART ................................................................................................................................................... 3 1. BASIC INFORMATION ON FINLAND ................................................................................................................................. 3 Population, religion and languages ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Special status of the Åland Islands ......................................................................................................................................... 3 2. REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES IN FINLAND ........................................................................................................ 4 Swedish .................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Sámi ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 3. NUMBERS OF PERSONS SPEAKING REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES IN FINLAND .................................................. 5 Swedish-speaking Finns ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Sámi ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 The definition of persons speaking a regional or minority language ..................................................................................... 5 4. NUMBERS OF NON-TERRITORIAL LANGUAGES AND OF PERSONS USING THEM IN FINLAND .......................................... 6 Roma language ...................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Russian ................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Tatar ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Yiddish .................................................................................................................................................................................... 6 Karelian .................................................................................................................................................................................. 7 Sign languages ........................................................................................................................................................................ 8 5. GOVERNMENT STATEMENTS AND REPORTS ................................................................................................................... 8 PART I .................................................................................................................................................................... 9 I.1 NATIONAL LEGISLATION IMPLEMENTING THE CHARTER ................................................................................................ 9 Constitution ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Language Act .......................................................................................................................................................................... 9 Sámi Language Act ............................................................................................................................................................... 10 Non-discrimination Act ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 Act on the Ombudsman for Minorities and the National Discrimination Tribunal of Finland ............................................. 11 Decree on the Advisory Board for Ethnic Relations (ETNO)................................................................................................. 11 Act on the Ombudsman for Children ................................................................................................................................... 12 I.2 BODIES AND ORGANISATIONS FURTHERING THE PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES ..................................................................................................................................................................... 12 RESEARCH CENTRE FOR THE LANGUAGES OF FINLAND ...................................................................................................... 12 FiBLUL FINNISH BUREAU FOR LESSER USED LANGUAGES ................................................................................................... 13 SWEDISH ASSEMBLY IN FINLAND ......................................................................................................................................... 13 SWEDISH CULTURAL FOUNDATION IN FINLAND ................................................................................................................. 13 SÁMI PARLIAMENT ............................................................................................................................................................... 13 ADVISORY BOARD ON ROMANI AFFAIRS ............................................................................................................................. 14 FINNISH ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN-SPEAKING ORGANISATIONS ....................................................................................... 14 FINNISH ISLAMIC CONGREGATION ...................................................................................................................................... 14 JEWISH CONGREGATION IN HELSINKI .................................................................................................................................. 14 KARELIAN LANGUAGE SOCIETY ............................................................................................................................................ 14 I.3 BODIES AND ORGANISATIONS CONSULTED ON THE PREPARATION OF THE REPORT ................................................... 15 I.4 PROVISION OF INFORMATION ON RIGHTS AND DUTIES DERIVING FROM THE APPLICATION OF THE CHARTER ........... 15 i I.5 IMPLEMENTATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................... 16 I.6 PROVISION OF INFORMATION ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS ............................. 17 I.7 CONTRIBUTION TO IMPLEMENTING THE RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 17 PART II .................................................................................................................................................................18 ARTICLE 7: OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES .......................................................................................................................... 18 1a) Recognition of the regional or minority languages as an expression of cultural wealth ............................................... 19 1b) Administrative divisions ................................................................................................................................................. 19 1c) Action to promote regional or minority languages in order to safeguard them ........................................................... 20 Language Act ................................................................................................................................................................... 20 Sámi Language Act and Sámi language ........................................................................................................................... 21 Roma ............................................................................................................................................................................... 22 Karelian ........................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Russian ............................................................................................................................................................................ 23 Yiddish ............................................................................................................................................................................. 24 Sign language .................................................................................................................................................................