CoE says Serbia needs to improve minority language situation

The ECRML Committee of Experts said in the report that bilingual education still needs to be promoted, the use of minority languages in the media extended, and national councils of national minorities strengthened. The report covers the period up to October 2022. The ECRML took effect in Serbia in 2006 for Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Bunjevac, Croatian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Macedonian, Romani, Romanian, Ruthenian, Slovak, Ukrainian and Vlach.

The Committee report said that overall Serbia has made progress in the implementation of the Languages Charter and noted that the process of introducing minority languages into official use has continued and accelerated. “While these decisions constitute commendable progress, it says, additional municipalities where minority languages, including Romani and Ukrainian, have been traditionally used still need to introduce them into official use,” a press release said adding that minority language education is organized in Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Hungarian, Romanian, Ruthenian and Slovak while several other minority languages are taught as elective subjects and others are not used at certain levels of education at all.

The report warned of a lack of availability and continuity of minority-language education at pre-school, primary and secondary levels and added that there is a need to extend and/or provide bilingual education, as it is the only model in Serbia that meets the minimum requirements of the Charter. There is no certified adult education for any minority language organised by the authorities, except for Hungarian, it said.

Most minority languages have been used in criminal and civil court proceedings, but not in proceedings concerning administrative matters, the report said.