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The EFAy has written to the Prime Minister of Israel, Ehud Olmert, to draw his attention to a number of points in the EFAy resolution passed at its 2008 AGM in Palma de Mallorca, Mallorca.

In the letter EFAy President Rhisiart Tal-e-bot says:

“Over the coming months, the EFAy will be following up the different aspects of the resolution in various ways. Meanwhile we would appreciate it if you could respond by informing us of any recent developments, relating to the issues raised above, that have been undertaken by the Israeli Government to further the peaceful coexistence between the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

The full text of the letter can be found here.

The EFAy cautiously welcomes the new proposed amendment to the French Constitution, recognising that the 'regional' languages of the French state are part of the heritage of France.

The new amendment was voted in favour of by the Assemblée Nationale of France on the 22nd May 2008 and although still needs approval by the Senate, it is expected that it will be accepted. However, the amendment only applies to Article 1 of the Constitution and not to the much disputed Article 2, which states that the language of the Republic is French.

The amendment comes after only a couple of weeks since the Assemblée Nationale debated the 'regional' languages of France for the first time on May 7th, where the centralist position of the French state, with regard to its 'regional' languages, was reinforced. During the 7th May debate, the French Culture Minister, Christine Albanel, stated that France would not ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, because it would be unconstitutional.

Also this week France was criticised by the United Nations for failing to give appropriate support and recognition to its 'regional' languages. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights said:

"29. The Committee remains concerned about the lack of official recognition of minorities within the territory of the State party. With specific regard to cultural rights, the Committee further notes with concern that some of these rights are not respected - such as the right to use a minority language, which can only be exercised in community with other members of the minority group.

30. The Committee notes with concern that the State party has not made sufficient efforts in the field of preservation and promotion of regional and minority languages and cultural heritage. The Committee also notes that the absence of formal recognition of regional and mminority languages has contributed to the constant decline in the number of speakers of such languages."

The Committee went on to recommend:

"49. The Committee, while taking note that the recognition of minority groups or collective rights is considered by the State party to be incompatible with its Constitution, wishes to reiterate that the principles of equality before the law and prohibition of discrimination are not always adequate to ensure the equal and effective enjoyment of human rights, in particular economic, social and cultural rights, by persons belonging to minority groups. The Committee therefore recommends that mthe State party consider reviewing its position with regard to the recognition of minorities under the Constitution, and recognise officially the need to protect the cultural diversity of all minority groups under the jurisdiction of the State party, in accordance with the provisions of article 15.

In this regard, the Committee reiterates the recommendation formulated in its previous concluding observations (E/C.12/1/Add.72, para. 25) that the State party (i) withdraw its reservation to article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to article 30 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and (ii) consider ratifying the Council of Europe Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, as well as the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages."

The full report can be found here and the full text of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights can be found here.

The EFAy has written to the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Dr. Jacques Rogge, to bring to his attention the EFAy reolution passed at our April 2008 General Assembly in Palma de Mallorca.

The letter urged Dr Rogge to use its influence to ensure that no further repression of the Tibetan people by the Chinese authorities takes place in the run up to the Olympics. In particular the following points were also raised, in line with the resolution passed:

“[We] urge the IOC and China not to take the Olympic flame through Tibet, as it will be seen as a provocation by Tibetans and might give the Chinese government extra reason to increase the repression of the population”

“Note that China’s use of the Olympics to use as propaganda for world harmony while at the same time crushing all dissent in Tibet is obscene. All European athletes competing in the Olympics should look to their conscience and decide if they wish to take part in a competition in a state that is committing acts of genocide against Tibetans.”

The EFAy also wrote to the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China, Minister Yang Jiechi, requesting that China refrains from taking the flame through Tibet. Li Lizhi, of the Beijing Olympic torch relay centre, said yesterday that the torch is still planned to go through Tibet, but the time it will be in the country will be shortened due to the recent earthquake. Li Lizhi said that the torch will be in Tibet:

“… either on June 18 or June 19, as is tentatively set now. But it is still open to future adjustment.”

The full text of the letter sent to the IOC can be found here.

The full text of the EFAy resolution can be found here.

The EFAy continues to receive good press coverage from Aland thanks to EFAy Members,Youth of Äland Framtid.

Last weekend the Aland based newspaper ‘Ålandstidningen’ featured an article relating to the EFAy representation at the Youth of European Nationalities supported event, ‘The more I see you - the added value of minorities’ event in the Danish town of Gråsten.

The EFAy would like to encourage its members to publicise its activities in their own nations/regions.

Clik here for article.

Also click here for EFAy link.

The EFAy has written to the Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Minister Yang Jiechi, informing him of the resolutions passed relating to his Government, at the EFAy General Assembly on April 12th 2008.

In particular the EFAy called on Minister Yang Jiechi for his Government to renew contacts with envoys of the Dalai Lama and to respect the human rights of the Tibetan people, in particular their right to self determination. The EFAy also urged the PRC to release all Tibetan political prisoners with immediate effect and strongly condemned the incidences of imprisonment, torture, forced sterilisation of Tibetan women, rape, forced labour, restrictions on religious observance, restrictions on the use of Tibetan language, restrictions on the expression of Tibetan culture; pointing out that these actions may constitute genocide under international law.

The full text of the letter to Minister Yang Jiechi can be found here and the resolution text can be found here.

The EFAy has written to Prime Minister Mr. Hashim Thaçi of Kosova, welcoming his Governments declaration of independence on 17th February 2008 and supporting the right of the people of Kosova to self-determination.

At the same time, the EFAy strongly condemned the isolated acts of violence that followed this declaration and expressed its disappointment that Kosova’s independence was not unanimously recognised by all 27 Member-States of the European Union. Over the coming months the EFAy will be writing to those Member States who have not yet recognised Kosova’s independence and urging them to do so.

Moreover, the EFAy called for the highest standards of minority rights to be upheld for the non-majority ethnic groups in Kosovo, namely Serbs, Turks, Bosniaks and others, and called upon them to participate in Kosovo’s institutions peoples

The full text of the letter to Prime Minister Mr. Hashim Thaçi can be found here and the full text of the EFAy resolution this relates to can be found here.

The European Commission has finally published their decision on the administrative grants for 2008 and it would seem that the EFAy has been awarded the full amount of 35.000 €.

This will ensure the financial and administrative stability of the EFAy for the forthcoming year, including the EFAy Coordinator position. The EFAy will susequently be looking for a new person to take up this role shortly, so watch this space if you think you are capable of taking on the challenge!

The full published list of organisations who have received a Commission administrative grant for this year can be found here.

The EFAy participated in the European Youth Forum’s (EYF) Council of Members (COMEM) meeting in Barcelona, Catalunya on 2-3 May 2008 in their capacity as Observer Members of the EYF.

EYF representatives from youth organisations from across Europe are invited to attend the bi annual COMEM meetings and are opportunity to discuss issues relating to the work of youth organisations at a European level. One of the main issues that the EFAy was interested in was the delay by the European Commission on the decision to allocate administrative grants to organisations. Like many other European youth organisations, the EFAy is still awaiting a response from the Commission to ascertain if a new EFAy coordinator can be employed for the next year. A decision is now expected sometime this month.

Thomas Leys, who is the EFAy COMEM representative, took part in the meeting.

Link:

European Youth Forum

The topic of the yearly seminar was “the more I see you - the added value of minorities” referring to a competence analysis commissioned by the Schleswig-Holstein State parliament.

The competence analysis should serve as an instrument for the development of the multilingual region and also convince other regions to investigate the added value of multilingualism. YEN and Junge Spitzen also brought attention by issuing a resolution calling for a European study on the added value of minorities. EFAy welcomes this initiative and like to state that it is of importance for every European citizen to understand the “added value of minorities”. Minorities provide Europe with unique competences concerning multilingualism, culture and democratic participation. Issuing such a study could be perceived as an acknowledgement of the added value of minorities in states across Europe.

Later, during the seminar all delegates were involved in a simulation, in which they had to portray different fictional minorities, which came to a climax in an enacted hearing in the European Parliament.

The EFAy was invited to hold a presentation on youth politics in the European Union. Vice-president Andreas Dahlén held the presentation on Saturday 10th during the general assembly of YEN.

The EFAy is grateful for the opportunity to take part in this years YEN seminar and look forward to further co-operation with the youth organisation.

The whole speech as presented during the YEN general assembly can be found here.

Link:

http://www.gravenstein2008.dk/