Convention on providing special rights for the Slovenian minority living in the Republic of Hungary and for the Hungarian minority living in the Republic of Slovenia
The Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Slovenia (hereinafter: the Contracting Parties)
- desiring to ensure the legal protection and preservation
and development of the identities of the Slovenian national minority living in the
Republic of Hungary and the Hungarian minority living in the Republic of Slovenia at as
high a level as possible;
- being convinced that the real equality of the Hungarian
and Slovenian national minorities, and the preservation of their national identities could
be achieved through ensuring special individual and common rights for them;
- having in mind the principles of the international
documents safeguarding the rights of national minorities, namely:
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial
Discrimination, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Helsinki Final Act, the
Paris Charter for New Europe, the meetings of the Conference on Human Dimension of the
CSCE in Paris, in Copenhagen and in Moscow, the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the concept of the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages;
- taking into account of the fact that the full development
of the national minorities especially within the territories where they are historically
inhabited, alongside the Raba River in the Republic of Hungary and alongside the Mura
River in the Republic of Slovenia, may enrich the cultural life and the co-operation
between both countries
have agreed as follows:
Article 1
The Contracting Parties shall ensure the possibilities for
the national minorities and individuals belonging to them of preservation, development and
free expression of their cultural, linguistic, religious, full Slovenian and Hungarian
identities. To this end, they shall create and implement such appropriate measures and
mechanism in the fields of education, culture, mass information, publishing and
scientific-research activity, economy and other which may promote the multifolded
development of the minorities.
Article 2
The Contracting Parties with paramount attention shall
promote the institutionalised learning of and studying in their mother tongue in
pre-school, elementary, secondary and higher education and the knowledge of the culture,
history and present reality of the mother nation and the national minority.
To this end, they shall endeavour the exchange of experience
in the educational system of the national minorities especially the bilingual teaching and
the alternative use of the school-books of each others.
In addition, they shall promote the exchange of teachers and
students, educational work-help materials and instruments, organisation of courses and
professional training, mutual granting of state and foundation scholarship for full,
partial and post-graduate education, especially education for teachers and theologists.
Beside it, they shall encourage the study and learning the
language, culture and history of the national minorities and their mother nation by
individuals belonging to the majority nation.
Article 3
The Contracting Parties shall encourage the full
gratification of the cultural needs of the national minorities.
They shall promote the establishment and operation of their
cultural institutions, associations and foundations.
To this end, they shall promote the sending for
non-commercial purpose (free of duty taxes) of books and periodicals, sound and video
records, the publishing activity of the national minorities, guest plays of professional
and amateur artistic groups as well as the organisation of all cultural and artistic
events which may serve the enrichment of the culture and identity of the national
minorities living in both countries.
Article 4
The Contracting Parties shall ensure for the members of the
national minorities the free use of their own language in their private and public life,
including the free use and registration of their original surnames and given names.
The Contracting Parties undertake to ensure within the
territory historically inhabited by their respective national minorities the equal use of
both languages especially in regard to geographic names and public signs, in the local
administration, in oral and written communications, in front of administrative and
judicial organs and in public institutions.
Article 5
The Contracting Parties admit the rights of both minorities
for receiving and disseminating information through radio and television broadcasts in
their mother tongue.
To this end, they shall ensure for the national minorities
to exercise their own information activity and to develop it. They shall support the free
flow of information in the languages of the national minorities as well as the
co-operation between the mass media of the minority and majority nations.
The Contracting Parties shall provide the possibilities of
receiving radio and television broadcasts from their country of living and from the mother
nation, as well as regular and suitable time for radio and television programs in their
mother language.
Article 6
The Contracting Parties shall support scientific research
and studies on the rights, history and present situation of the national minorities. To
this end, they shall support the participation of the national minorities in such
research, the creation and operation of the organisations of the national minorities and
their co-operation with the Contracting Parties and shall allow research on minority
issues in their respective territories.
Article 7
The Contracting Parties undertake that,
making plans on regional and economic developments, they shall take into account the
special interests of the national minorities, and within the territories historically
inhabited by national minorities, they ensure economic and social development, that makes
possible the social and economic equality of national minorities.
The Contracting Parties in the interest of
the national minorities shall support all forms of trans-boundary co-operation, especially
economic co-operation.
The Contracting Parties shall support such kind of regional
economic development which prevent the emigration of the inhabitants and the forcible
change of the ethnic composition of the population in territories historically inhabited
by national minorities.
Article 8
The Contracting Parties in conformity with their national
legislation shall ensure the appropriate participation of the national minorities in
adopting decisions at local, regional and national level concerning the rights and
situation of the national minorities and their members.
Article 9
The Contracting Parties undertake not to form the
administrative and regional organisations of the state and local self-governments at the
expense of the national minorities. They shall make efforts to close the administrative
districts and parliamentary constituencies to the districts inhabited by both national
minorities. The Contracting Parties in conformity with their national legislation shall
ensure the conditions for the activity of the nation-wide organisations of the national
minorities for the protection of the national minorities and for the protection of their
interests.
Article 10
The Contracting Parties shall ensure for the minorities the
possibilities of maintaining free and direct contacts with the citizens, state, and public
organisations of their respective mother nations. To this end, they shall first open new
border points, provide transport connections and support the economic and cultural
contacts as well as the exchange of professionals.
Article 11
The Contracting Parties undertake to take into account of
obligations deriving from this convention in the conclusion of other agreements and
programmes on co-operation.
The Contracting Parties shall ensure the participation of
the representatives of the national minorities in the conclusion of treaties directly
concerning the situation and rights deriving from this Convention.
Article 12
The Contracting Parties shall provide appropriate material
and other support to the implementation of obligations under the present Convention.
Article 13
No article of the present Convention shall be interpreted or
implemented in a way that the level of rights guaranteed or achieved be diminished.
Article 14
No provision of the present Convention shall be interpreted
in a way that it harms the territorial integrity of each Contracting Parties.
Article 15
The Contracting Parties shall set up a special
inter-governmental minority Commission for monitoring the implementation of the provisions
of the present Convention. The respective governments of the Contracting Parties shall
delegate an appropriate number of representatives to this Commission at every meeting. The
members of the Commission from the respective national minorities shall be appointed upon
the proposal of their organisations.
The inter-governmental Commission shall meet, at least,
twice a year alternatively in the territories of the Contracting Parties.
The tasks of the inter-governmental Commission are the
following:
- to discuss the current issues of both minorities;
- to evaluate the implementation of obligations under the
Convention;
- to prepare and adopt recommendations for their respective
governments concerning the implementation and in case of necessity the amendment of the
Convention.
The Commission adopts its decisions by consensus.
Article 16
The present Convention is subject to ratification in
conformity with the relevant legislation of each Contracting Parties.
The present Convention shall enter into force after the
expire of two month from the date of the exchange of the instruments of ratification, the
Commission referred to in Article 15 may be set up immediately after signing the
Convention.
Article 17
The present Convention shall remain in force for five years,
its validity shall thereafter be extended for another 55 years unless either of the
Parties terminates it giving a six month notice in written form.
Done at Ljubljana on 6 November 1992, in duplicate in the
Hungarian and Slovenian languages, both texts being equally authentic.
For the Republic of Hungary For the Republic of Slovenia