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The institutions
and non-governmental organizations, signatories to the present Universal
Declaration of Linguistic Rights, meeting in Barcelona from 6 to 9 June 1996,
Having regard to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights which, in its preamble, expresses its "faith in fundamental
human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal
rights of men and women"; and which, in its second article, establishes
that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms" regardless
of "race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status";
Having regard to the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December 1966
(Article 27), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights of the same date which, in their preambles, state that human beings
cannot be free unless conditions are created which enable them to enjoy both
their civil and political rights and their economic, social and cultural
rights;
Having regard to Resolution
47/135 of 18 December 1992 of the General Assembly of the United Nations
Organizations which adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging
to National, Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities;
Having regard to the declarations
and conventions of the Council of Europe, such as the European Convention for
the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, of 4 November 1950
(Article 14); the Convention of the Council of Ministers of the Council of
Europe, of 29 June 1992, approving the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages; the Declaration on National Minorities by the Summit
Meeting of the Council of Europe on 9 October 1993; and the Framework
Convention for the Protection of National Minorities of November 1994;
Having regard to the Santiago de
Compostela Declaration of the International PEN Club and the Declaration of 15
December 1993 of the Translations and Linguistic Rights Committee of the
International PEN Club concerning the proposal to hold a World Conference on
Linguistic Rights;
Considering that, in the Recife,
Brazil, Declaration of 9 October 1987, the 12th Seminar of the International
Association for the Development of Intercultural Communication recommended the
United Nations Organization to take the necessary steps to approve and
implement a Universal Declaration on Linguistic Rights;
Having regard to Convention 169
of the International Labour Organization of 26 June 1989 concerning Indigenous
and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries;
Having regard to the Universal
Declaration of the Collective Rights of Peoples, Barcelona, May 1990, which
declared that all peoples have the right to express and develop their culture,
language and rules of organization and, to this end, to adopt political,
educational, communications and governmental structures of their own, within
different political frameworks;
Having regard to the Final
Declaration of the General Assembly of the International Federation of Modern
Language Teachers in PÈcs (Hungary) on 16 August 1991, which recommended that
linguistic rights be considered among the fundamental rights of the individual;
Having regard to the report of
the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council,
of 20 April 1994, concerning the draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples, which assesses individual rights in the light of collective rights;
Having Regard to the draft
Declaration of the Inter-American Human Rights Commission on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples, approved at session 1278 on 18 September 1995;
Considering that the majority of
the world's endangered languages belong to non-sovereign peoples and that the
main factors which prevent the development of these languages and accelerate
the process of language substitution include the lack of self-government and
the policy of states which impose their political and administrative structures
and their language;
Considering that invasion,
colonization, occupation and other instances of political, economic or social subordination
often involve the direct imposition of a foreign language or, at the very
least, distort perceptions of the value of languages and give rise to
hierarchical linguistic attitudes which undermine the language loyalty of
speakers; and considering that the languages of some peoples which have
attained sovereignty are immersed in a process of language substitution as a
result of a policy which favours the language of a former colonial or imperial
power;
Considering that universalism
must be based on a conception of linguistic and cultural diversity which
prevails over trends towards homogenization and exclusionary isolation;
Considering that, in order to
ensure peaceful coexistence between language communities, a series of overall
principles must be found so as to guarantee the promotion and respect of all
languages and their social use in public and in private;
Considering that various factors
of an extralinguistic nature (historical, political, territorial, demographic,
economic, sociocultural and sociolinguistic factors and those related to
collective attitudes) give rise to problems which lead to the extinction,
marginalization and degeneration of numerous languages, and that consequently
linguistic rights must be examined in an overall perspective, so as to apply
appropriate solutions in each case;
In the belief that a Universal
Declaration of Linguistic Rights is required in order to correct linguistic
imbalances with a view to ensuring the respect and full development of all
languages and establishing the principles for a just and equitable linguistic
peace throughout the world as a key factor in the maintenance of harmonious
social relations;
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