OSCE Mission to Moldova supports discussion on Gagauz minority’s language rights

A set of recommendations on how to ensure the language rights of the Gagauz minority of Moldova was presented on 29 March 2012 at an OSCE-hosted roundtable meeting in Chisinau.

The meeting brought together representatives of the Gagauzia autonomous territorial unit, the Bureau for Interethnic Relations, the Foreign Ministry of Moldova, civil society and international development partners, including the Council of Europe and the EU Delegation to Moldova.

Participants stressed the need to develop a strategy to improve the language policy of Gagauzia and to help increase the level of state language proficiency by the Gagauz in order to facilitate better integration of the Gagauz into Moldovan society.

The recommendations were developed by Piligrim-Demo, a Gagauzia-based non-governmental organization, as part of a policy brief that also addresses the history of and challenges to preserving the Gagauz language and culture. The research was funded by the Dutch Embassy in Kiev and supported by the OSCE Mission to Moldova.