Mr Juraj Schenk

Minister for Foreign Affairs

of the Slovak Republic

Stromová 1

833 36 BRATISLAVA

Slovak Republic

The Hague 24 August 1995

Reference : No 899/95L

Dear Mr Minister,

May I first of all express my gratitude for the assistance given to the Team of Experts and to myself during our visit to your country on 5 - 7 June 1995. Your Ministry was most helpful in organizing this visit and provided us with a considerable amount of useful documentation and information.

After having solicited the views of the experts, I submit to you, as I did on previous occasions, a number of comments and recommendations regarding a number of current questions relating to minorities. In doing this, I have also taken into account the text of the treaty on good neighbourliness and friendly cooperation which was concluded last March between the Slovak Republic and the Republic of Hungary, because it contains a number of important principles regarding the treatment of persons belonging to national minorities. I feel entitled to do so, because, even though the treaty still has to be approved by the National Council of Slovakia, its contents can be considered as reflecting the views of the Slovak Government.

One of the subjects most discussed recently in your country is the introduction of a system of alternative education in linguistically mixed regions. This question is especially relevant for the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. According to the data regarding the schoolyear 1993/1994 published in a publication of your Ministry 77% of the total number of children belonging to the Hungarian minority attending kindergarten go to kindergarten with Hungarian as the language of instruction. Approximately 80% of the total number of pupils of Hungarian nationality at the elementary school level attend elementary schools with Hungarian as the language of instruction (the Slovak language being taught as a compulsory subject during the school period of attendance to elementary school). The others go to mixed elementary schools, i.e. those with Slovak classes besides Hungarian ones.

On the basis of the conversations the Team of Experts and I had with the Minister of Education Mrs Slavkovska, and various publications on the subject, I understand that the concept of alternative education has the following elements :

In the conversation the Team of Experts and I had with the Minister of Education, she stressed that participation in the alternative education system would be on a strictly voluntary basis. Parents would not be obliged to send their children to the alternative classes. Such classes would only be started if there were sufficient interest for them. In this connection a number of 20 pupils was mentioned, with exceptions to be made for special circumstances in individual localities. In the near future, the alternative system would start on an experimental basis.

In recent months, parents of the Hungarian minority have been asked to give their views on the plans of the Government. A very strong majority of them have apparently given a negative reaction. The protagonists of the alternative education system stress that this is probably due to a misunderstanding of what is intended, and express the hope that further explanations will lead to a more positive response. The reactions in the Hungarian community in Slovakia against the plan are so strong, however, that I doubt that a major shift in favour of the plan in the coming years is likely. On the other hand, the Government has committed itself - and has continued to commit itself after the reaction of the parents became known - to respect the free choice of the parents. Fears have been expressed that the Government might resort to indirect pressure on the parents, for instance by implying that pupils of Hungarian schools would suffer the consequences of their choice in their future careers, or by taking steps which would be to the financial disadvantage of Hungarian language schools. It is my assumption that the Government will firmly reject such a cause of action because this would mean a breach of its promise to respect the free choice of the parents.

In the policy statement of 12 January 1995 your Government announced its intention to create the conditions for the thorough learning of the state language in the linguistically mixed areas of the Slovak Republic. In this context it mentioned the concept of alternative education at state schools operating in the linguistically mixed territories of Slovakia. In my view, your Government acts in full conformity with international standards when it tries to ensure that all citizens of your country have a proper knowledge of the state language. In this context, I refer to paragraph 34 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document which refers to "the need to learn the official language or languages of the state." On the other hand, there are other ways than the concept of alternative education to achieve this end. In the light of the opposition of most of the parents of the Hungarian minority to the concept of alternative education on the one hand, and the commitment of the Government to respect the free choice of the parents on the other, I would recommend that an investigation will be made about the quality of the teaching of the Slovak language in Hungarian schools and the ways to ensure its improvement where necessary. In order to avoid any complaints about partiality, it might be advisable to use international expertise in such a study.

With great interest I studied the draft law on the state language of the Slovak Republic. Its main aim is clearly that the role of the Slovak language as the state language will be ensured and protected. Other European states have laws with similar objectives. On the other hand, in states with national minorities, the question inevitably arises how to find a balance between the right of a state to ensure that the position of the state language is safeguarded and the need to ensure that the languages of the national minorities are protected in accordance with international standards. In this context I mention Article 1 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National, or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities (legally binding for Slovakia once the treaty with Hungary comes into force) which requires i.a. that states shall protect the linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories, and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of their identity. Article 15.2g of the treaty concluded with Hungary also makes several references to the linguistic rights of persons belonging to minorities. So do paragraphs 32.1 and 34 of the Copenhagen Document and Article 10.1 of the Council of Europe Framework Convention. The existing law on the official language contains (Article 1, paragraph 2) a reference to "international obligations in the field of human rights. I would suggest a similar reference to international obligations and commitments in the text of the new law.

In making these remarks, I am of course aware of the repeated assurances of your Government that it intends fully to respect its international commitments. In addition, Article 34 of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic is of major significance in this respect. I also noted that the draft law on the state language of the Slovak Republic contains a number of references to the linguistic rights of persons belonging to minorities. What causes me some concern, however, is that in a number of fields the draft law is formulated in such a way that it leads to uncertainty about the position of the minority languages. I will illustrate this with a few examples. Article 10 of the draft law states that law no 428/1990 on the official language of the Slovak Republic is null and void. This has i.a. as a consequence that section 6, paragraph 2 of that law ("if persons belonging to a national minority constitute at least 20% of the population of a town or village, they have the right to use their language in such towns and villages in official communications") is no longer valid. On the other hand, Article 34.2 sub b of the Constitution of the Slovak Republic refers to "the right to use a minority language in official communications." However, this right is granted "under provisions fixed by law". If the draft law would be adopted, no such law would exist anymore. I would, therefore, recommend that the text of Article 6 paragraph 2 of the law on the official language will be incorporated in the draft law.

The reference in footnotes to various Articles of other laws also lead to doubts about the continued validity of other sections of such laws. For instance, Article 5.1 of the draft law states that broadcasts in the languages of the ethnic minorities are regulated by special provisions. A footnote then refers to Article 5 of law 255/1991 on Slovak Radio, and Article 3 of law 254/1991 on Slovak Television. No reference is being made to a number of other Articles in laws relating to Slovak Radio and TV and their role to promote the identity of the national minorities quoted in the publication of your Ministry on the status of the Hungarian minority in the Slovak Republic (Section 9, paragraph 2, item c, law on the operation of Radio and TV broadcasting no 268/1993; Section 6, item d, law on the Slovak Radio no 270/1993; Section 3, paragraph 3 and Section 6, item j, law on Slovak Television 271/1993.) In my view it would be desirable that the draft law would confirm their continued validity.

Article 4.3 of the draft law states that text books and teaching aids (video, film, electronic recordings and so on) used in the teaching process are issued in the state language; they can be issued in another language only to the extent determined by special provisions. As the question of text books in minority schools is an important one, it would in my view be preferable to deal with this matter in the text of the law itself. I hope that the question of the import of text books and other educational material from Hungary will be solved in the spirit of Article 12.7 of the treaty concluded between Slovakia and Hungary (each contracting party shall endeavour to expand the opportunities for learning about culture, literature and language of the other contracting party).

A number of provisions in the draft law could be interpreted in a way which might not be intended at all. For instance Article 2, paragraph 2, sub c, could be interpreted as excluding the language of a minority as the means of communication within such a minority. Article 3, paragraph 1, might be interpreted as making it impossible for a state university to employ foreign teachers if they don't know the Slovak language. Article 4, paragraph 3 could be interpreted as obliging teachers in minority language schools to use only the Slovak language in the teaching process. Reformulation of these paragraphs must be considered desirable.

Article 9, paragraph 3 refers to the supervision of the obligations under the draft law by the Ministry of Culture. My assumption is that the way this task will be implemented shall be the subject of a subordinate set of regulations. I would recommend that these regulations shall be published as they will give a clearer insight into the way the law will be implemented.

In 1995, the overall budget of the Ministry of Culture was increased considerably compared with 1994. On the other hand, the direct contributions from the budget of the Ministry to various cultural activities of natural minorities have been considerably reduced. The most severe cuts have been made in the contributions of the Ministry to periodicals and other publications in the language of national minorities. Considerable reductions were also made in the contributions to the functioning of various national minority organisations, the percentage of the reduction being the highest for CSEMADOK, the social and cultural Alliance of Hungarians in Slovakia. I can only express the hope that in the coming years this downward trend will be reversed, also taking into account the fact that subsidies are the most effective and sometimes the only way to implement the commitment contained in para. 33 of the CSCE 1990 Copenhagen Document regarding the protection and the creation of conditions for the promotion of the cultural identity of national minorities.

In the statement on government policy of 12 January 1995 it is announced that norms will be drafted for the support of minority cultures. I express the hope that these norms, before being presented to the National Council in the form of a draft law, will be the subject of discussion in the Government Council for Nationalities.

I would also recommend that the formulation of these norms should be accompanied by a change of the decision-making process regarding the allocation of funds for various cultural activities of national minorities. At present the Ministry of Culture is making these decisions, and as a consequence, it is also the target of criticism if it rejects specific projects or provides less money for a project than has been asked for. In my view it would be preferable to delegate this responsibility to the minorities themselves. Once the National Council has decided on the total budget for cultural activities of all the national minorities, the funds made available, could be divided amongst the various national minorities, the percentage allotted to each to be decided on the basis of their numerical strength with a certain minimum for the smallest national minorities. The decision on how to divide up the funds available of various cultural projects planned within each national minority could be left to a committee of representatives of that minority. The task of the Ministry of Culture would be to ensure that the norms would be respected. If this would not be the case, the relevant decision could be annulled. Such a policy would be very much in line with Article 15 of the Framework Convention which states: "the parties shall create the conditions necessary for the effective participation of persons belonging to national minorities in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs, in particular those affecting them."

The declaration on government policy of January 12, 1995 also states that special attention will be given to "strengthening the position of the culture of the Slovaks living in the territories imbued with the culture of the ethnic minority." As long as such a policy has as its sole aim to strengthen Slovak culture in areas where a national minority constitutes a majority, and refrains from steps to weaken the culture of the other ethnic group, such a policy is in my view compatible with international norms. I would recommend, however, that such a policy will not be financed by reducing the funds available for supporting the culture of the national minorities living in Slovakia, because it is difficult to see why it would have to be implemented at their expense.

Finally, I noted that a number of periodicals have been given subsidies totalling SK 27.70 mn in order to publish supplements in the languages of national minorities. This new policy has been explained by the need to provide objective and relevant information of an apolitical nature, especially for people who have problems with the Slovak language. As this new policy is specifically designed for, and of immediate relevance to the various national minorities, I would recommend that the Council of the Government for National Minorities, making use of the competence given to it under Article 4 of its Statutes, will establish a special working group to follow and analyze its implementation. On the basis of the report of the working group, the Council could then, when it would fit the need to do so, come forward with suggestions and recommendations regarding this policy as foreseen in Article 12 , 1 (d) of its Statutes.

These, Mr Minister, are the recommendations I should like to submit to you. I have refrained from making new comments on the administrative reform planned in the Slovak Republic; in my view the suggestions I made in my letter of 21 June 1994 remain relevant. I hope you will accept them as they are intended : as a genuine effort to be of help in solving the difficult questions relating to national minorities your Government has to face. It is my firm belief that, if both national minorities and the Government choose a constructive approach, they can be solved in a satisfactory way. In this respect, I want to emphasize the importance I attach to what is stated so clearly in the policy statement of your Government : "In dealing with all the questions related to the situation and the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, the Government will abide by the Constitution of the Slovak Republic and the international legal and political commitments of the Slovak Republic."

I am looking forward with great interest to the reply of your Government.

Yours sincerely,

Max van der Stoel

OSCE High Commissioner

on National Minorities