Strasbourg, 4 July 2011 Working document Public SECRETARIAT OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NATIONAL MINORITIES COMPILATION OF OPINIONS OF THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE RELATING TO ARTICLE 3 OF THE FRAMEWORK CONVENTION FIRST CYCLE “Article 3 1. Every person belonging to a national minority shall have the right freely to choose to be treated or not to be treated as such and no disadvantage shall result from this choice or from the exercise of the rights which are connected to that choice. 2. Persons belonging to national minorities may exercise the rights and enjoy the freedoms flowing from the principles enshrined in the present framework Convention individually as well as in community with others.” Note: this document was produced as a working document only and does not contain footnotes. For publication purposes, please refer to the original opinions. ACFC I - Art 3 – July 2011 Table of contents 1. Albania ......................................................................................................................... 3 2. Armenia ........................................................................................................................ 4 3. Austria .......................................................................................................................... 7 4. Azerbaijan..................................................................................................................... 9 5. Bosnia and Herzegovina.............................................................................................. 10 6. Bulgaria ...................................................................................................................... 14 7. Croatia ........................................................................................................................ 17 8. Cyprus ........................................................................................................................ 18 9. Czech Republic ........................................................................................................... 20 10. Denmark ..................................................................................................................... 22 11. Estonia........................................................................................................................ 24 12. Finland........................................................................................................................ 26 13. Georgia ....................................................................................................................... 27 14. Germany ..................................................................................................................... 30 15. Hungary...................................................................................................................... 32 16. Ireland......................................................................................................................... 33 17. Italy ............................................................................................................................ 34 18. Kosovo ....................................................................................................................... 37 19. Latvia.......................................................................................................................... 39 20. Liechtenstein............................................................................................................... 43 21. Lithuania..................................................................................................................... 44 22. Malta .......................................................................................................................... 47 23. Moldova...................................................................................................................... 48 24. Montenegro................................................................................................................. 50 25. Netherlands................................................................................................................. 52 26. Norway ....................................................................................................................... 54 27. Poland......................................................................................................................... 56 28. Portugal ...................................................................................................................... 59 29. Romania...................................................................................................................... 61 30. Russian Federation...................................................................................................... 63 31. San Marino ................................................................................................................. 66 32. Serbia and Montenegro................................................................................................ 67 33. Slovak Republic .......................................................................................................... 70 34. Slovenia ...................................................................................................................... 71 35. Spain........................................................................................................................... 74 36. Sweden ....................................................................................................................... 76 37. Switzerland ................................................................................................................. 77 38. “The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” .......................................................... 79 39. Ukraine ....................................................................................................................... 81 40. United Kingdom.......................................................................................................... 84 2 ACFC I - Art 3 – July 2011 1. ALBANIA The Advisory Committee underlines that in the absence of a definition in the Framework Convention itself, the Parties must examine the personal scope of application to be given to the Framework Convention within their country. The position of the Albanian Government is therefore deemed to be the outcome of this examination. Whereas the Advisory Committee notes, on the one hand, that Parties have a margin of appreciation in this respect in order to take the specific circumstances prevailing in their country into account, it notes, on the other hand, that this must be exercised in accordance with general principles of international law and the fundamental principles set out in Article 3. In particular, it stresses that the implementation of the Framework Convention should not be a source of arbitrary or unjustified distinctions. For this reason, the Advisory Committee considers that it is part of its duty to examine the personal scope given to the implementation of the Framework Convention in order to verify that no arbitrary or unjustified distinctions have been made. Furthermore, it considers that it must verify the proper application of the fundamental principles set out in Article 3. The Advisory Committee notes from the State Report that the Albanian authorities recognise as national minorities the Greek, Macedonian and Montenegrin national minorities and that the Roma and Aromanians / Vlachs are recognised as linguistic minorities. The Advisory Committee understands that, according to the Government, the Framework Convention is applied equally to these groups of national and linguistic minorities without distinction or discriminating effect. It understands that the designation of the Roma and Aromanians / Vlachs as linguistic minorities rather than national minorities is based on the assumption that they do not have a kin-state. Notwithstanding this explanation, the Advisory Committee has learnt that some members of these communities are not satisfied with this term “linguistic minority” as it does not reflect the essential elements of their identity that go beyond a purely linguistic connotation. The Advisory Committee encourages the Government, in consultation with those concerned, to re-examine the question of the designation of the Roma and Aromanians / Vlachs as linguistic minorities, as opposed to national minorities, ensuring at the same time that this distinction has no impact on the application of the Framework Convention to these communities. The Advisory Committee has learnt that many persons belonging to the Egyptian community consider themselves to be a national minority distinct from both the Roma community and the Albanian community. The Advisory Committee notes, in this respect, that persons belonging to this community define themselves by their ethnic background, their stated historical roots as descendants of persons from Egypt, their traditions and their cultural heritage. The Advisory Committee notes the Government’s contention that the Egyptian community is well integrated into Albanian society and their members only speak Albanian, having lost their minority language over time. Persons belonging to the Egyptian community have, however, made it clear to the Advisory Committee that they would like to receive recognition as a national minority. The Advisory