<amarc-1> Linguistic Rights

[Luistxo Fernandez <nabigatzen@jalgi.com> (by way of Bram Dov Abramson <bram@tao.ca>)]

In order to ensure a multi-cultural pluralistic future global landscape,
the need to maintain and foster language diversity must be addressed.

One text that should be taken in mind, in my opinion, is the Universal
Declaration of Linguistic Rights (UDLR), a declaration in preparation by a
group supported by Unesco, that may reach the UN plenary soon.

Section IV of UDLR is about "Communications media and new technologies". A
couple of articles from that Section:

Article 35
All language communities have the right to decide the extent to which their
language is be present in all the communications media in their territory,
whether local and traditional media, those with a wider scope, or those
using more advanced technology, regardless of the method of dissemination or
transmission employed.

Article 38
The languages and cultures of all language communities must receive
equitable and non-discriminatory treatment in the communications media
throughout the world.

The rest of relevant articles and the full text of UDLR (including Spanish,
French and other translations) available here:
	http://www.indigo.ie/egt/udhr/udlr.html

As a member of a minority-language community, I think that the principles
mentioned in the articles cited (and others that appear in the UDLR) are
basic guidelines for a equitable global communicational environment.

Ignoring diversity and closing doors to language communities cannot be the
right way. That only drives the world to a mono-cultural uniform desert.
Besides that, it clearly infringes fundamental communitarian and individual
rights of the people.

Luistxo Fernandez
a Basque journalist and Internet user






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