OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier told Sputnik on Thursday that in his work with Ukrainian authorities he would insist that they ensure equal conditions for country's ethnic minorities and their languages in public life.
MILAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2018) OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier told Sputnik on Thursday that in his work with Ukrainian authorities he would insist that they ensure equal conditions for country's ethnic minorities and their languages in public life."While I do respect the aim of the Ukrainian authorities to strengthen the role of the Ukrainian language as the state language but at the same time there has to remain the space for all groups that have different identities and different language. It is a balance that I would like to see and I will keep insisting with the Ukrainian authorities to make sure that this happens," Zannier said on the sidelines of the 25th OSCE Ministerial Council in Milan.
The high commissioner stressed that he was in contact with the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament and had been recently in touch with the foreign minister in order to make sure that the work on the language law continues.
"First of all there is a consultation with all ethnic groups [to make sure] that their opinion is taken into account. [And also to make sure] that the law reflects the internationally recognized standards as well as the commitments Ukraine [has undertaken] in terms of recognizing the rights of minorities," Zannier added.
In October, the Ukrainian parliament passed a new language bill, expanding the use of the Ukrainian language in public life. Under the new bill, the Ukrainian language becomes mandatory for state and local authorities, educational institutions and service sector.
Moreover, under the Ukrainian legislation, children from national minority groups are now able to study in their native language only at the Primary school level, while secondary and post-secondary education will be only in Ukrainian. The full switch to Ukrainian-language education is set for September 1, 2020.
In February, the Ukrainian Constitutional Court abolished the 2012 law "On the foundations of the state language," which recognized the right to use minority languages in various areas of public life in regions where minorities constituted more than 10 percent of the population � 13 regions out of 27.
Ukraine's largest ethnic minority group are Russians, accounting for about 17 percent of the country's population. Other ethnic minority groups include Romanians, Belorussians, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Poles, Jews, and Armenians. Hungarians are largely concentrated in Ukraine's Zakarpattia region, where they form the largest minority at 12 percent of the population.
