Ethnic Minorities in Azerbaijan - Linguistic Rights

Linguistic Rights

Article 21 ("State Language") of Section II of the Constitution of Azerbaijan states:

“
  • I. The Azerbaijani language shall be the State language of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
  • II. The Republic of Azerbaijan shall ensure the development of the Azerbaijani language.
  • III. The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee the free use and development of other languages spoken by the population.
 ”

Furthermore, Article 45 ("The Right to Use Native Language") of Section III of the Constitution of Azerbaijan states:

“
  • I. Every Person shall have the right to use Native language. Everyone shall have the right to be raised and get an education, be engaged in creative activities in Native Language.
  • II. No one can be deprived of the right to use Native Language.
 ”

According to the 2007 report by the Council of Europe's Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI):

“ The languages of national minorities living in Azerbaijan are taught in public schools in regions where these minorities live compactly. In general, two hours a week are devoted to teaching minority languages from the first to the fourth grade. Apart from a great number of Russian schools, especially in the capital city of Baku, there are also some Georgian and Jewish schools in Azerbaijan. ECRI notes that the Azerbaijani authorities have recently made efforts in order to improve the quality of teaching of several minority languages, including Lezgin and Talysh. They have published textbooks in these languages to replace old or foreign textbooks which were not appropriate. However, according to several sources, the textbooks for learning other minority languages such as Tat and Avar are still unsuitable. In addition, there are too few teachers for these minority languages, and the teachers are poorly trained. The Azerbaijani authorities have stated that the Ministry of Education is taking measures to improve the situation with regard to these issues. ”

According to other reports, there have been several complaints of ethnic unrest in Azerbaijan due to the assimilation politic of the government and its treatment of minorities. Among others the Avars, Talysh, Kurds and Tats.

Read more about this topic:  Ethnic Minorities In Azerbaijan

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