Mother tongue education not adequately recognised, KHRP
Mother tongue education not adequately recognised, KHRP
Kurdish Human Rights Project (KHRP) has published a briefing paper entitled Culture and Language Rights – Mother-Tongue Education in the Kurdish Regions. The paper concludes that mother-tongue education, which in itself may be regarded as a fundamental right under international law, is not adequately recognised, protected or promoted in the Kurdish regions, serving as a barrier to conflict resolution in that area. The paper provides a comparative legal and practical overview of the use of mother-tongue education in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey today and makes some key recommendations for governments, civil society organisations and the international community on how to resolve the outstanding issues.
The use of mother-tongue languages, the report states, is a crucial means for minority groups to express their cultural identity. The use of mother-tongue languages in education, both as the language of instruction and as an academic discipline, is a basic right, which serves to protect and promote this aim. Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey (hereinafter referred to as the “States”) are obliged under international human rights law and standards to guarantee this right.
However, to varying degrees, these States are failing to fulfil their international legal obligations in this regard, resulting in many individuals from minority groups being denied the enjoyment of this and various other fundamental rights.
The KHRP Briefing Paper provides an overview of the use of mother-tongue education in the States mentioned above and provides some key recommendations on how to tackle language right issues, which hinder conflict resolution in that region. The Briefing Paper is divided into five main parts: an overview of the relevant obligations under international law; an overview of the national legal framework in each of the States; a discussion of the importance of the right to mother-tongue education; an analysis of the current status of the use of mother-tongue education in the States; and key recommendations for governments, civil society organisations and the international community on how to resolve the language rights issues discussed in this Briefing Paper.
The use of mother-tongue languages, the report states, is a crucial means for minority groups to express their cultural identity. The use of mother-tongue languages in education, both as the language of instruction and as an academic discipline, is a basic right, which serves to protect and promote this aim. Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey (hereinafter referred to as the “States”) are obliged under international human rights law and standards to guarantee this right.
However, to varying degrees, these States are failing to fulfil their international legal obligations in this regard, resulting in many individuals from minority groups being denied the enjoyment of this and various other fundamental rights.
The KHRP Briefing Paper provides an overview of the use of mother-tongue education in the States mentioned above and provides some key recommendations on how to tackle language right issues, which hinder conflict resolution in that region. The Briefing Paper is divided into five main parts: an overview of the relevant obligations under international law; an overview of the national legal framework in each of the States; a discussion of the importance of the right to mother-tongue education; an analysis of the current status of the use of mother-tongue education in the States; and key recommendations for governments, civil society organisations and the international community on how to resolve the language rights issues discussed in this Briefing Paper.
