High Commissioner on National Minorities highlights access to education, situation in Crimea in her statement to OSCE Permanent Council

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Astrid Thors highlighted access to higher education by national minorities and human rights abuses in Crimea in her statement to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on 20 November 2014.

The statement covered the High Commissioner’s activities since her last statement to the Permanent Council in July. In this period Thors visited Serbia, Albania, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia and Tajikistan.

During her country visits, the High Commissioner receives updates on the situation of national minorities and supports government efforts to promote the integration of society and avoid inter-ethnic tensions, among other activities.

She said that minority access to higher education has been a recurrent topic during her country visits. She noted that in both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, unified national tests were not available in some minority languages this year. In Kyrgyzstan, tests in languages other than Russian and Kyrgyz were abolished; in Tajikistan, the tests were introduced this year, but only in Russian and Tajik.

For pupils who had followed schooling in a minority language, this presented a serious obstacle to their chance to enter university, she said. In Kyrgyzstan, it is positive that this decision was revoked at the last minute; however, many students did not have enough time to apply and take the test. The High Commissioner urged all participating States to ensure access to higher education for minority students.

She highlighted a positive higher-education initiative in southern Serbia, where the Bujanovac Department of Economics has been providing bilingual education in Serbian and Albanian since 2011. In July 2015, the first students will graduate, contributing to their employability, and enhancing socio-economic development and inter-ethnic relations in the region. “This bilingual, State‑funded higher‑education institution has become a symbol of interaction and integration between all communities in southern Serbia,” Thors said.

Meanwhile the High Commissioner remains concerned about the extreme difficulties many citizens in Ukraine are facing due to the ongoing conflict. She noted that the security situation in the east and the annexation of Crimea meant many people were unable to exercise their right to vote in the recent elections. In other areas in the east and south voter turnout was markedly lower, indicating that trust in shared institutions varies sharply across the country.

Thors also reiterated her concern about reports of human rights abuses in Crimea. Such violations, “together with a crackdown on those who do not agree with the de facto authorities, not only constitute a denial of basic rights, but may also increase the risk of inter‑ethnic conflict on the peninsula.” She called on the authorities in effective control to respect human, including minority, rights; to investigate reports of violations; and to provide the international community with access to the peninsula.

The full statement can be found here.