- 15 - fact that it is for a State party to decide what shall be its official language and it is not competent to the Committee to direct the State party to adopt any other language or languages as official language or languages of the State. Once a State party has adopted any particular language or languages as its official language or languages, it would be legitimate for the State party to prohibit the use of any other language for official purposes and if the State party does so, its action cannot be branded being in violation of article 19, paragraph 2. Re. article 26 7. We are also of the view that the circular does not violate article 26. Article 26 is a free-standing guarantee of equality and strikes at discrimination. The only argument which seems to have been advanced by the authors in paragraphs 3(4) and 3(5) in support of its claim of violation of article 26 is that by reason of English being declared as the only official language of the State and the failure of the State to enact legislation allowing the use of other languages, the authors have been denied the use of their mother tongue in administration, justice, education and public life. This argument has already been rejected by us while dealing with article 19, paragraph 2, and the same reasoning must apply in relation to the challenge under article 26. It is significant to note that it is nowhere alleged in the communication that the action of the State in declaring English as the official language and not allowing the use of other languages was directed only against the use of Afrikaans while permitting the other languages to be used. The action of the State in declaring English as the official language and not allowing the use of other languages by enacting appropriate legislation was clearly not violative of article 26 because all languages other than English were treated on the same footing and were not allowed to be used for official purposes and there was no discrimination against Afrikaans vis-à-vis other languages. 8. The reliance on the circular referred to above would also not help the authors to substantiate their claim under article 26. The circular is clearly intended to provide that all official phone calls and correspondence should be treated exclusively in English, which is the official language of the State. That is the thrust, the basic object and purpose of the circular and it is in pursuance of this object and purpose that the circular directs that the Government officials should refrain from using Afrikaans when responding to official phone calls and correspondence. The circular refers specifically only to Afrikaans and seeks to prohibit its use by Government officials in official phone calls and correspondence, because the problem was only in regard to Afrikaans which was at one time, until replaced by English, the official language and which continued to be used by Government officials in official phone calls and correspondence, though it had been ceased to be the official language of the State. There was apparently no problem in regard to the tribal languages because they were at no time used in administration or for official business. But Afrikaans was being used earlier for official purposes and hence it became necessary for the State to issue the circular prohibiting the use of Afrikaans in official phone calls and correspondence. That is why the circular specifically referred only to Afrikaans and not to the other languages. This is also evident from the statement in the circular that Afrikaans