Language Research

Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (April 27, 1992)

The Constitutional Acts of the FR of Yugoslavia; The Constitution of the FRY was announced on April 27, 1992. The Constitution of Serbia on September 28, 1990. The Constitution of Montenegro on October 12, 1992. The Statute of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina on June 29, 1991. These regulate the freedoms and rights of the members of minority groups.

The Law on the Official Use of Language stipulates that languages and scripts of national minorities are in official use in parallel with the Serbian language in that territory of the Republic of Serbia inhabited by members of national minorities. The Law covers the manner of language use and scripts in different situations, for example, the use of more than one minority language, the inscription of geographical names, names of streets and squares, traffic signs and other public inscriptions etc.

Some rights are regulated by Federal and Republic laws, some by laws at a lower level (decrees, decisions, regulations, municipal statutes) as well as by individual political and legal documents (for instance, the “Declaration on human rights and rights of members of national minorities in the Republic of Serbia”).

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Updated (March 2002)

At the beginning of March 2002 the Yugoslav Parliament adopted a Draft Law on the Protection of National Minorities' Rights and Freedoms. According to the Yugoslav National Minorites Minister, Rasim Ljajic the law is an entrance ticket to the Council of Europe.

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Rolf Ekéus praised the adoption of the new “minority law”, saying that it was an important step by the Yugoslav Government to overcome inter-ethnic conflicts which have scarred Yugoslavia's recent history. The High Commissioner's Office has been closely engaged in assisting with preparation of the draft law. In a letter to the Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Ekéus noted the importance of implementing the law. According to CoE's monitoring principle of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Yugoslavia is due to present its first report on the implementation of the convention in September this year.

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Updated (October 2002)

ETHNIC ROMANIANS IN SERBIA

Four organizations of ethnic Romanians (Vlachs) in Serbia signed in a middle of May 2002 a common declaration asking for the right to study their mother tongue in elementary schools and to use it publicly and during religious services. Vlachs asked the Serbian government to participate in the projects aimed to develop cultural traditions of their population.

In Serbia, almost 500,000 Romanians live in the area between the Danube, Morava and Timoc rivers. Serbian authorities consider these people to be an “ethnic group,” without a mother country, as it is with Roma people. Consequently, Vlachs have no right to speak their mother language, to have schools, particular religious services and press or cultural institutions working in their language.

Source: Minelres Archive, http://lists.delfi.lv/pipermail/minelres/, No. 9/ May 27, 2002 Belgrade

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Updated (May 2004)

THE LAW ON NATIONAL MINORITIES COULD EXCLUDE THE MOST VULNERABLE ETHNIC GROUPS

The draft Law on Montenegro's National Minorities has caused serious concern amongst the representatives of minority groups who consider it to be flawed and imprecise. They fear that this law could result in some communities being excluded from the protection under its provisions. The law as it stands will fail to consider the issues affecting internally displaced persons, including members of the Roma and Askhaleia Egyptian minorities from Kosovo, who have settled in Montenegro.

Nedjeljka Sindik, speaking on behalf of the NGO “ASK”, based in Montenegro called upon the government to redraft the Law on Minorities, taking into account their concerns.

In addition to calling for greater protection of the minority rights, concern was also raised over the provision to suspend the rights of minorities in state of emergency.

Source: Minority Rights Group, March 15, 2004, http://www.minorityrights.org/news_detail.asp?ID=223

Click here to download the full intervention delivered to the UN Working Group on Minorities

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