Convention between the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Croatia on the protection of the Hungarian minority in the republic of Croatia and the Croatian minority in the Republic of Hungary
The Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Croatia (hereinafter: "The Contracting Parties")
starting from the fact that the existence and culture of the
Hungarian minority living in the Republic of Croatia, and the Croatian minority living in
the Republic of Hungary (hereinafter: "minorities"), enriches the cultural
values of the two countries,
guided by the purpose to provide for the Hungarian minority
living in the Republic of Croatia, and the Croatian minority living in the Republic of
Hungary, the highest level of legal protection as well as preservation and development of
their respective national identities; in addition, being convinced that the integration of
minorities is possible only through the preservation of their features as ethnic
communities, and that an important element of it is their effective participation at
various levels in the decisions concerning their identity,
considering those provisions of the Convention on Friendship
and Co-operation, signed by the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Croatia on
December 16, 1992 in Budapest, which refer to the rights of the minorities, and with a
view to implement the Declaration on the Protection of Minorities signed by Hungary, the
Ukraine, Croatia and Slovenia,
starting from the principles laid down in international
documents on human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as on the protection of
minorities, with special regard to the following:
- the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Convention
against Discrimination in Education, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, the Declaration of the Rights of Persons
Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities,
- the relevant documents adopted within the CSCE process,
particularly the Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference of the Human
Dimension of the CSCE in 1990, and the Report of the CSCE Meeting of Experts on National
Minorities in Geneva 1991,
- the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages, the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities as well as
the recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, particularly
the recommendation 1201 (1993),
- the Instrument of the Central European Initiative for the
Protection of Minority Rights, considering that generally the improvement and protection
of the rights of minorities contribute to political and social stability of the states
where they live,
emphasising that continuous guarantee and realisation of the
rights of minorities - as a component of social development within a democracy based on
the rule of law - contribute to the deepening of friendship and co-operation between
peoples and states, and to the improvement of the international security,
confirming that the Hungarian minority have the right to
return to those presently occupied territories of the Republic of Croatia, from which they
were driven away in 1991, whereas it is one of the prerequisites for the implementation of
the protection of their minority rights ensured by this Convention,
have agreed as follows:
Article 1
The Contracting Parties shall ensure the preservation of
culture, language, religion as well as the Hungarian and Croatian identity of the
minorities. For this purpose, in the fields of bilateral economic co-operation, regional
development, representation of the minorities, education, culture, mass media, publishing
and scientific research, legislation, and other fields pertaining to culture the
Contracting Parties shall take appropriate measures and shall create and implement
adequate mechanisms which contribute to comprehensive development of the minorities.
Article 2
The Contracting Parties shall lend full support to the
appropriate organisation of the existing kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and
higher education institutions as well as to the establishment of new educational
institutions. The Contracting Parties shall, at all levels and in forms consistent with
the requirements of the minority organisations based on the requests by the parents,
support the operation of the educational institutions, which forms can be the following:
a) full educational process in the language of the
respective minority
b) bilingual educational process
c) additionally arranged optional teaching of the language
and culture of the respective minority.
The Contracting Parties with paramount attention shall
promote at these educational institutions the employment of adequately skilled teachers
from among the members of the minorities, and only in exceptional cases shall they depart
from this rule requiring fluency in the language of the respective minority.
The Contracting Parties shall encourage the exchange of
experience through meetings of the experts of minority education in both countries, and
through mutual exchange of textbooks in mother tongue. They shall also promote the
exchange of pupils, teachers as well as educational work-help materials, the organisation
of professional training courses for minority teachers in both countries, mutual granting
of state and foundation grants for studies and professional training of the minorities, in
particular for teachers and catechism-teachers.
The Parties shall, in the schools of the majority nation,
encourage learning of the language, culture and history of the respective minority and its
mother nation.
Article 3
The Parties shall, with special attention, follow the manner
in which cultural, educational and religious needs of the minorities are met on the
territories of the Republic of Hungary inhabited by Croats and of the Republic of Croatia
inhabited by Hungarians. They shall encourage the establishment of cultural and
educational centres, as well as the operation of other institutions and foundations, and
the promotion of operation of the existing institutions and organisations on the territory
of Hungary inhabited by Croats and in the territory of Croatia inhabited by Hungarians, in
compliance with their respective domestic legislation.
To this end, they shall in particular support the fee and
duty free sending of books, magazines, video and sound records to such institutions and
foundations for non-commercial purposes, the minorities' own publishing activity, guest players 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 minorities in both countries.
They shall co-operate in the protection of monuments related
to the history of the minorities as well, and the shall support any such efforts of the
minorities.
Article 4
The Contracting Parties shall ensure for the members of the
minorities the free use of their mother tongues in private and public, as well as the free
use and registration of their original first names and surnames.
The Contracting Parties undertake to ensure within the
territory inhabited by the respective minorities the appropriate use of both languages,
especially in regard to geographic names and public signs, in the local self government
authorities, in oral and written communications, in the administrative authorities and
judiciary, as well as other public institutions, in compliance with their respective
domestic legislation.
Article 5
The Contracting Parties recognise the right of both
minorities to receive information through printed media, radio and TV broadcasts in their
mother tongue. In compliance with their domestic legislation the Parties shall:
- enable regular radio and television broadcasts in their
mother tongue in an appropriate length
of time
- encourage the adoption and distribution of radio and
television programs of the mother
nation
- support the minorities to exercise their own information
activities
Article 6
The Contracting Parties shall respect the right of
minorities to practice their religion in their mother tongue and shall support such
efforts by churches. For this purpose the Hungarian and Croatian authorities will permit
the mutual exchange of priests for the religious minority communities operating in their
territories.
Article 7
The Contracting Parties shall support scientific research
and studies on the rights, history and present situation of the minorities. To this end,
they shall support the participation of the minorities in such research, the creation,
operation and co-operation of scientific institutions of the minorities and of the
Parties, as well as they shall allow research on minority issues in their respective
territories.
Article 8
In the interest of their minorities the Contracting Parties
shall support all form of trans-frontier co-operation, especially in the area of economic
and trade co-operation, and shall endeavour to exploit the mediating role of the
minorities in this field.
The Contracting Parties undertake that, making plans on
economic development, they shall take account the special interest of the minorities,
including the reconstruction of the war-affected areas of the Republic of Croatia
inhabited by Hungarians, and shall ensure the economic and social development in areas
inhabited by minorities in order to guarantee the economic and social equality of
minorities.
The Contracting Parties shall support such kind of economic
development measures which eliminate the causes of the emigration of minorities and the
alteration in any forms of the ethnic composition of the population.
Article 9
The Contracting Parties, in compliance with their domestic
legislation, shall ensure:
- appropriate participation of minorities in the local,
regional and national decision-making
process relevant to the rights and status of the minorities
- material and other conditions required for the election
and work of minority representatives
in the Hungarian and Croatian representative bodies
The Contracting Parties undertake not to change the
administrative and territorial organisations of the state and local governments as well as
the electoral districts aimed at being to the detriment of minorities.
The Republic of Hungary shall confirm to ensure the material
conditions for the establishment and effective operation of the Croatian minority
self-governments in Hungary within the framework of current regulations and the appointed
date.
The Republic of Croatia shall confirm to ensure, in
accordance with its domestic legislation, the right of the Hungarian minority to cultural
autonomy, in addition, shall promote the free union and association of the Hungarian
minority intended or preserve their national and cultural identity.
Article 10
The Contracting Parties shall endeavour with the help of the
international community to enable the displaced persons and refugees, including those who
belong to the Hungarian minority, to return freely and voluntarily to their homes in the
presently occupied areas of the Republic of Croatia aimed at restoring the ethnic
composition before 1991.
Article 11
The Contracting Parties shall ensure for the minorities the
possibilities of maintaining versatile, free and direct contacts with members of the
nation with whom they speak the same language and manifest the same culture as well as
with its state and public institutions. For this purpose and to the extent of their
capacities they shall open new border crossings, provide transport connections and support
the development of cultural and economic contacts as well as the exchange of
professionals.
To achieve the aims of this Convention, the governments,
organisations and citizens of the Parties may assist the organisations of minorities
living the territory of the other Party and these organisations shall have the right to
accept such assistance.
Article 12
The Contracting Parties undertake to take into account of
obligations deriving from this Convention in the conclusion of other agreements and
co-operation programs.
The Contracting Parties shall ensure the representatives of
minority organisations to participate in the conclusion of those agreements which,
according to this Convention, directly affecting their status and rights.
Article 13
The Contracting Parties shall provide appropriate material
and other support to the implementation of obligations under the present Convention.
Article 14
No Article of the present Convention shall be
interpreted or implemented in a way that the level of rights already guaranteed or
achieved be diminished.
Article 15
No provision of the present Convention shall be interpreted
or implemented in a way which would threat or violate the territorial integrity of each
Contracting Party.
Article 16
The Contracting Parties shall set up a special joint
inter-governmental committee for minorities to monitor the implementation of the
provisions of the present Convention. The respective governments of the Contracting
Parties shall delegate an appropriate number of members. The members of the Committee from
the respective minorities shall be appointed upon the proposal of minority organisations.
The Joint Committee shall meet as required, but at least
annually and alternately in the Republic of Hungary and the Republic of Croatia.
The tasks of the Joint Committee are the following:
- to discuss the current issues relevant to the two
minorities
- to evaluate the implementation of obligations under the
present Convention
- to prepare and adopt recommendations for their respective
governments concerning the
implementation and in case of necessity the modification of
this Convention.
The Committee adopts its decisions by consensus.
Article 17
The present Convention shall enter in force on the day of
receipt of the last notification sent through the diplomatic channel whereby the
Contracting Parties notify each other that the required conditions for its entering into
force have been fulfilled in compliance with their constitutional process.
The Convention shall be temporarily applied as from the date
of its signing.
Article 18
The present Convention shall remain in force for a period of
five years after entering force. Its validity shall thereafter be extended for another
five-year periods unless either of the Parties denounces it in writing at least six months
before its expiration.
Done at Osijek, on the 5th day of April, 1995, in two
originals, each in the Hungarian and Croatian languages, both texts being equally
authentic.