What is the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages?
The Charter is an international convention designed to protect and promote regional and minority languages. The Charter does not establish any individual or collective rights for the speakers of regional or minority languages. The Charter’s overriding purpose is cultural. It is designed to protect and promote regional or minority languages as a threatened aspect of Europe’s cultural heritage. The UK Government signed the Charter on 2 March 2000 and ratified it on 27 March 2001. The Charter came into force on 2 July 2001. It is binding upon each of the ratifying States. Thus it has implications for all Northern Ireland Government departments and associated bodies, for Whitehall departments operating in Northern Ireland and for Local Government. In Northern Ireland it applies to Irish and Ulster-Scots. It does not cover sign languages or the languages of the minority ethnic communities. The UK Government must provide periodic reports to the Council of Europe Committee of Experts who repo
