E/CN.4/Sub.2/AC.5/2001/2 page 14 compactly together or is dispersed throughout the country. Also relevant will be whether it is a long-established minority or a new minority composed of recent immigrants, whether or not they have obtained citizenship. 61. In cases where the language of the minority is a territorial language traditionally spoken and used by many in a region of the country, States should to the maximum of their available resources ensure that linguistic identity can be preserved. Pre-school and primary school education should, ideally in such cases, be in the child’s own language, i.e. the minority language spoken at home. Since persons belonging to minorities, like those belonging to majorities, have a duty to integrate into the wider national society, they need also to learn the official or State language(s). The official language(s) should gradually be introduced at later stages. Where there is a large linguistic minority within the country, the language of the minority is sometimes also an official language of the State concerned. 62. At the European regional level, educational rights relating to minority languages are developed at greater length in the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, adopted by the Council of Europe. On this subject, a group of experts elaborated the Hague Recommendations regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities (October 1996), prepared under the auspices of the Foundation on Inter-Ethnic Relations. 63. In regard to non-territorial languages spoken traditionally by a minority within a country, but which are not associated with a particular region of that country, a uniform solution is more difficult to find. The principles stated above should be applied where appropriate, but where the persons belonging to the minority live dispersed, with only a few persons in each particular place, their children need to learn the language of the surrounding environment more fully at an earlier stage. Nevertheless, they should always also have an opportunity to learn their mother tongue. In this regard, persons belonging to minorities have a right, like others, to establish their private institutions, where the minority language is the main language of instruction. However, the State is entitled to require that the State language is also taught. One question to be addressed is whether the State is obliged to provide subsidies for such teaching. It would be a requirement that the State does ensure the existence of and fund some institutions which can ensure the teaching of that minority language. It follows from the general wording of article 4.3 that everyone should have adequate opportunities “wherever possible”. It would therefore depend on the resources of the State how far the obligation to fund teaching of minority languages for persons belonging to dispersed groups goes. 64. Greater difficulties arise in regard to languages used solely by persons belonging to new minorities. These are usually more dispersed than are the older and settled minorities, and the number of languages spoken at home by migrants in a country of immigration can be quite large. Furthermore, the children have a great need to learn to use the language of the country of immigration as quickly and as effectively as possible. Should, however, some new minorities settle compactly together in a region of the country and in large number, there is no reason to treat them differently from old minorities. It should be noted, however, that the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages does not cover the languages of migrants. In any case, persons belonging to new minorities are entitled to set up their own private educational institutions allowing for the teaching of and instruction in their mother tongue. The State is entitled to demand that the official language is also taught.