A/HRC/43/47/Add.1 majority must also be given similar opportunities in relation to minority cultures and languages.13 64. Each of the autonomous communities has in place different educational approaches and models for the use of minority languages as a medium of instruction or their inclusion as subject matter. Many autonomous communities implement more than one model within their own jurisdiction. It is beyond the scope of the present report to detail each of those approaches to determine which may or may not be consistent with the international obligations of Spain vis-à-vis the human rights of minorities. The Special Rapporteur reiterates, however, that regardless of the model or approach in place, members of linguistic minorities have the right to the use of their language in education to the extent that such use is reasonable and proportional, so that children may, wherever practical, effectively acquire fluency in their own language as well as in a State’s national language. 65. In light of the commendations that Catalonia has received from UNESCO and other international commentators for its highly successful immersion model, the Special Rapporteur recommends that Spanish authorities, including at the level of autonomous communities, review any measure that might reduce the proportion of teaching that is carried out in the Catalan minority language in public schools. 66. The Special Rapporteur also recommends that Spanish authorities ensure that appropriate resources, teachers, support personnel and infrastructure are in place so that children in autonomous communities with significant populations belonging to linguistic minorities have the possibility of studying in their own languages. Despite the existence, in many cases, of legislation recognizing such a right, in practice individuals in Navarre, the Balearic Islands, the Valencian Community and Galicia have indicated that they face practical obstacles or other limitations in exercising that right. For example, it was brought to the Special Rapporteur’s attention that some public schools in the Balearic Islands had opted for a trilingual model (Castilian, Catalan and English), which significantly reduced teaching in the co-official minority language. C. Participation in public life 67. The Special Rapporteur joins colleagues who have already expressed grave concerns about restrictions placed on, criminal charges against, and the subsequent trials and sentences of political figures and protesters belonging to the Catalan minority. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression issued a statement on 6 April 2018 in which he urged Spanish authorities to refrain from pursuing the criminal charge of rebellion against those political figures and protesters. 14 He indicated that such charges for acts that did not involve violence or incitement to violence could interfere with the freedom of expression, including peaceful public protest and dissent. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues shares those concerns in terms of the signal this gives to minorities more generally. Non-violent political dissent by minorities should not give rise, as the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression also points out, to criminal charges, since such restrictions should only be imposed where they are strictly necessary and proportionate. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues points out that all 12 people convicted for long periods of imprisonment in connection with the October 2017 referendum are members of the Catalan minority. 68. The Special Rapporteur on minority issues also agrees with the recent conclusions drawn by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in its opinion No. 6/2019, concerning the extended detention of two members of civil society organizations (former president of the Catalan National Assembly, Jordi Sánchez, and president of Òmnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart), and the former vice-president of Catalonia, Oriol Junqueras, charged with sedition for a failed bid to obtain Catalonian independence from Spain in 2017. He notes the Working Group’s conviction that the purpose of the criminal charges brought against those individuals was to intimidate them because of their political views. 15 He also notes the 13 14 15 14 Ibid., p. 19. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22928&LangID=E. Opinion No. 6/2019, para. 119.