(eng) Linguicide – educational reforms of 2018
Following up on the
previous discussion regarding the suppression of native Finno-Ugric languages, this post examines the implications of the 2018 educational reforms in the Russian Federation.
The reforms enacted in 2018 marked a significant shift in language education policy, changing the instruction of native languages from mandatory to optional. As a result, there has been a marked decline in the use and transmission of Finno-Ugric languages. Concurrently, financial, and institutional support for preserving and promoting these languages has been substantially reduced.
By de-emphasizing the role of native language education, the reforms effectively provided a legal framework for the reallocation of resources away from Finno-Ugric language programs. However, this legal foundation appears to contradict several provisions of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, including:
• Article 7, Clause 1, which guarantees the right to the free development of the individual, encompassing the cultivation of cultural identity.
• Article 68, Clause 3, which affirms the rights of indigenous peoples to preserve, study, and develop their native languages.
• Article 69, Clause 2, which commits to the preservation of linguistic diversity.
Moreover, these reforms are in potential violation of numerous international norms and agreements that safeguard linguistic and cultural rights, including:
• Articles 2, 26, and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),
• Articles 1 and 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
• Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),
• Articles 8.1, 8.2, and 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Notably, the failure to uphold these international standards may itself constitute a violation of Article 69, Clause 1 of the Russian Constitution, which mandates the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples in accordance with universally recognized principles and norms of international law.