The Committee of Ministers has just adopted, for the first time, conclusions and recommendations on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in two States Parties. The Committee of Ministers was guided, in particular, by the opinions of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention, which is made up of independent experts.
The two states concerned are Denmark and Finland. The Committee of Ministers recommends that both countries take appropriate account of its conclusions and of the comments of the Advisory Committee. It also invites the governments involved to inform the Advisory Committee of any measures they may take to implement these conclusions and comments.
With regard to Denmark, the Committee of Ministers observes in particular that efforts have been made to implement the Framework Convention with regard to the German minority in Southern Jutland and encourages further consideration of the Convention's possible application to other groups. It also concludes that the special funding of the state church, and the requirement that all names be registered with this church, ought to be reviewed.
With regard to Finland, the Committee of Ministers concludes that efforts have been made towards protecting the Swedish-speaking Finns and welcomes the improvements in the protection enjoyed by the Sami. As regards the Roma, however, the Committee of Ministers concludes that the implementation of the Framework Convention has not been entirely successful and expresses concern about the discrimination suffered by this group and their socio-economic status. It also concludes that further attention should be paid to the Russian-speaking community, particularly in the fields of education and the media.
The texts of these conclusions and recommendations are available on the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers site : http://cm.coe.int/ta/res/resCMN/2001/2001xn2.htm (Denmark) and http://cm.coe.int/ta/res/resCMN/2001/2001xn3.htm (Finland). The Advisory Committee's opinions on Denmark and Finland, together with the comments of the States concerned are already available on-line.