THE FIFTH PERIODIC REPORT BY THE GOVERNMENT OF FINLAND ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN CHARTER FOR REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES NOVEMBER 2017 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................................... 6 PART I ................................................................................................................................................................... 7 1. BASIC INFORMATION ON FINNISH POPULATION AND LANGUAGES ................................................................ 7 1.1. Finnish population according to mother tongue ..................................................................................... 7 1.2. Administration of population data ......................................................................................................... 9 2. SPECIAL STATUS OF THE ÅLAND ISLANDS ....................................................................................................... 9 3. NUMBER OF SPEAKERS OF REGIONAL OR MINORITY LANGUAGES IN FINLAND .............................................. 10 3.1. The numbers of persons speaking a regional or minority language....................................................... 10 3.2. Swedish ............................................................................................................................................... 10 3.3. Sámi languages ................................................................................................................................... 11 4. NON-TERRITORIAL LANGUAGES AND NUMBER OF PERSONS USING THEM IN FINLAND ................................. 12 4.1. Roma .................................................................................................................................................. 12 4.2. Russian ............................................................................................................................................... 13 4.3. Tatar ................................................................................................................................................... 13 4.4. Yiddish ................................................................................................................................................ 14 4.5. Karelian .............................................................................................................................................. 14 4.6. Estonian .............................................................................................................................................. 15 4.7. Sign language ..................................................................................................................................... 16 5. GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME, STRATEGIES, STUDIES, REPORTS AND INVESTIGATIONS ................................. 18 5.1. Government Programme ..................................................................................................................... 18 5.2. Key project on knowledge and education ............................................................................................. 18 5.3. National Action Plan on Fundamental and Human Rights 2017–2019 .................................................. 19 5.4. Strategy for the National Languages of Finland and its follow-up ......................................................... 19 5.5. Action Plan for the Strategy for the National Languages of Finland ...................................................... 21 5.6. Report on the implementation of language legislation ......................................................................... 22 5.7. Language Barometer 2016 .................................................................................................................. 23 5.8. Sámi Barometer 2016 .......................................................................................................................... 24 5.9. Study on the implementation of the constitutional linguistic rights of the Roma ................................... 25 6. NATIONAL LEGISLATION .............................................................................................................................. 26 6.1. Amendments to the Language Act ....................................................................................................... 26 6.2. Sámi Language Act reform .................................................................................................................. 27 6.3. The new Non-discrimination Act and discrimination monitoring system ............................................... 27 6.4. Revision of the Act on the Sámi Parliament .......................................................................................... 28 6.5. Amendment to the Basic Education Act regarding pre-primary education ............................................ 29 7. OVERSIGHT OF THE REALISATION OF LINGUISTIC FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS .................................................... 29 7.1. Ex-ante and ex-post supervision........................................................................................................... 29 7.2. Chancellor of Justice of the Government .............................................................................................. 29 7.3. Parliamentary Ombudsman ................................................................................................................. 30 7.4. Non-Discrimination Ombudsman and National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal .................... 33 8. STRUCTURES PROMOTING LINGUISTIC RIGHTS ............................................................................................ 33 8.1. Advisory Board on Language Affairs .................................................................................................... 33 8.2. Sámi Language Council of the Sámi Parliament .................................................................................... 34 8.3. National languages network................................................................................................................ 34 8.4. National languages network of bilingual municipalities........................................................................ 34 8.5. Finnish Network for Language Education Policies................................................................................. 35 8.6. Institute for the Languages of Finland .................................................................................................. 35 8.7. National Human Rights Institution ....................................................................................................... 35 8.8. Government Network of contact persons for fundamental rights and human rights ............................. 36 9. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS' RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................. 36 9.1. Communication about the recommendations ...................................................................................... 36 9.2. Recommendation – policy and funding for developing education in the Sámi language ........................ 37 9.3. Recommendation - protecting Inari and Skolt Sámi by means of language nest activities..................... 38 9.4. Recommendation - social welfare and health care services in Swedish and Sámi .................................. 38 Protection of linguistic rights in services ................................................................................................................. 39 Linguistic rights in the reform of the public social welfare and health care service structure .................................... 39 Programme to address child and family services ..................................................................................................... 40 2 9.5. Recommendation - the teaching of Roma ............................................................................................ 41 9.6. Recommendation - awareness of regional or minority languages ......................................................... 42 Ministry of Justice as a promoter of linguistic rights ................................................................................................ 42 Human rights in the curricula ................................................................................................................................. 42 Tasks of the Finnish Broadcasting Company............................................................................................................ 43 Press subsidies....................................................................................................................................................... 43 Training programme for minority youth on using media for exerting influence ........................................................ 43 Roma portal........................................................................................................................................................... 44 PART II ................................................................................................................................................................ 45 ARTICLE 7: OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES ......................................................................................................... 45 1a) The recognition of the regional or minority languages as an expression of cultural wealth