PART I 1.1 INTRODUCTION Purpose of the Commentary Education is today considered as a goal in its own right as well as a forceful tool for transmitting knowledge, attitudes and values. No other issue is given such space in the Framework Convention (FCNM), with three specific provisions (out of sixteen operative provisions in its Section II), Articles 12-14, as well as explicit references to education in general provisions concerning equality and intercultural dialogue (Article 6). In recent years, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (hereinafter ‘the Advisory Committee’) has repeatedly discussed the need to summarize its experience and views on specific thematic issues. Important input in this debate was given at the Conference to mark the 5th Anniversary of the Entry into Force of the Framework Convention in 2003. 2 The three themes discussed were participation, media and education. Out of these three themes, the Advisory Committee decided to start by an in depth analysis of its experience in the field of education. The present Commentary aims to cover five distinct but interrelated issues: - - - - It summarizes the experience of the Advisory Committee in working with and for education rights (mainly Articles 12-14 of the Framework Convention) and with the role of education in promoting a spirit of tolerance and intercultural dialogue as envisaged in Article 6 (1) of the Framework Convention. The present Commentary focuses mainly on Articles 12 and 14 since these two provisions form the core of the monitoring activities of the Advisory Committee in the field of education during the First Monitoring Cycle; It underlines the wealth of information existing in State Reports and the broad spectrum of solutions used in different contexts. Such State practice from many different countries around Europe offers a comprehensive image of the implementation of the Framework Convention and allows for further elaboration of the various specific issues raised in this Commentary; It identifies issues which require more attention in the future both in the work of the Advisory Committee, in the implementation of the Framework Convention and the reporting by State Parties as well as in the activities of other actors, including nongovernmental organisations and academics; It makes an effort to situate the work and the views of the Advisory Committee within a broader international discourse; It highlights some of the tensions the Advisory Committee has encountered in the field of minority and intercultural education and choices that need to be made consciously by all actors involved, including State Parties and their governments, minorities, parents and students/pupils. The Commentary draws upon the Opinions of the Advisory Committee on specific countries as well as on State Reports submitted to the Advisory Committee and other sources, in order to substantiate the conclusions which are incorporated under each section of the Commentary. It is the hope of the Advisory Committee that the Commentary will give practical guidance to State Parties to the Framework Convention and to other actors involved in education related 2 The report of the Conference was published in 2004 by the Council of Europe “Filling the Frame: Five years of monitoring the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities” ISBN 92-871-5472-2. 5