CCPR/C/95/D/1334/2004 Page 11 8.6 As for the authors’ claim under article 27, the Committee explained in its General Comment No. 23 on this provision, that this article ‘establishes and recognizes a right which is conferred on individuals belonging to minority groups and which is distinct from, and additional to, all the other rights which … [individuals] are already entitled to enjoy under the Covenant’. 10 It specifically noted that the ‘protection of these rights is directed towards ensuring the survival and continued development of the cultural, religious and social identity of the minorities concerned’. 11 Finally, the Committee has emphasized that article 27 requires State parties to employ ‘[p]ositive measures of protection […] against the acts of the State party itself, whether through its legislative, judicial or administrative authorities […]”. 12 8.7 In this respect, the Committee has noted the authors’ uncontested claim that “Oina” published articles containing educational and other materials for Tajik students and young persons on events and matters of cultural interest to this readership, as well as reported on the particular difficulties facing the continued provision of education to Tajik youth in their own language, including shortages in Tajik-language textbooks, low wages for teachers and the forced opening of Uzbek-language classes in some Tajik schools. The Committee considers that in the context of article 27, education in a minority language is a fundamental part of minority culture. Finally, the Committee refers to its jurisprudence, where it has made clear that the question of whether Article 27 has been violated is whether the challenged restriction has an ‘impact […] [so] substantial that it does effectively deny to the [complainants] the right to enjoy their cultural rights […]’. 13 In the circumstances of the present case, the Committee is of the opinion that the use of a minority language press as means of airing issues of significance and importance to the Tajik minority community in Uzbekistan, by both editors and readers, is an essential element of the Tajik minority’s culture.14 Taking into account the denial of the right to enjoy minority Tajik culture, the Committee finds a violation of article 27, read together with article 2. 9. The Human Rights Committee, acting under article 5, paragraph 4, of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is of the view that the facts before it disclose a violation of the authors’ rights under article 19 and article 27, read together with article 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 10. Under article 2, paragraph 3(a), of the Covenant, the State party is under obligation to provide Mr. Mavlonov and Mr. Sa’di with an effective remedy, including the reconsideration of “Oina’s” application for re-registration, and compensation for Mr. Mavlonov. The State party is also under obligation to take measures to prevent similar violations in the future. 11. Bearing in mind that, by becoming a State party to the Optional Protocol, the State party has recognized the competence of the Committee to determine whether there has been a violation of the Covenant or not and that, pursuant to article 2 of the Covenant, the State party has 10 Human Rights Committee’s General Comment No. 23 (1994), para.1. Ibid, para.9. 12 Ibid, para.6.1 13 See Länsman et al. v. Finland, Communication No. 511/1992, Views adopted on 26 October 1994, para.9.5. 14 Ibid, paras.9.2 and 9.3. 11