Cividale del Friuli (Italy), 24-26 October 1996

1. The participants in the Conference on Federalism, Regionalism, Local Autonomy and Minorities, held by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe (CLRAE) and the Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Autonomous Region in Cividale del Friuli (Italy) from 24 to 26 October 1996:

2. Wish to thank Friuli-Venezia-Giulia Autonomous Region most sincerely for its kind hospitality and the excellent organisation of the Conference;

3. Considering the texts of the United Nations, the OSCE, the Central European Initiative and the European Parliament concerning minorities;

4. Considering that the problem of linguistic and ethnic minorities, while demanding national action, has now become a problem of democracy and respect for human rights which therefore concerns Europe as a whole and thus warrants international regulation;

5. Considering that the CLRAE, in Resolution 232 (1992), called for this conference to be organised to consider examples of the involvement of minorities in local self-government in Europe with a view to drawing up appropriate recommendations;

6. Considering that, from the internal point of view of States, the legal forms of federalism, regionalism and local self-government actually merely amount to differing methods of applying the principle of subsidiarity, which the European Charter of Local Self-Government defines as meaning that "public responsibilities shall generally be exercised, in preference, by those authorities which are closest to the citizen. Allocation of responsibility to another authority should weigh up the extent and nature of the task and requirements of efficiency and economy";

7. Considering that neither international law in general nor the treaties dealing with the problem of minorities, in particular the two instruments adopted by the Council of Europe (the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities), guarantee minorities a genuine and universally recognised right to manage their own affairs in the areas where they live, even though Article 7.1 (b) of the Charter requires the Contracting Parties to respect the geographical area of each regional or minority language in order to ensure that existing or new administrative divisions do not constitute an obstacle to the promotion of such languages;

8. Considering, however, that certain bilateral treaties and many national constitutions do provide for some degree of local or regional self-government by minorities;

9. Considering also that Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1201 (1993) states that, in regions where they are in a majority, persons belonging to a national minority should have the right to have at their disposal appropriate local or autonomous authorities or to have a special status, matching the specific historical and territorial situation and in accordance with the domestic legislation of the State;

10. Having considered examples of local or regional self-government enjoyed by minorities in Finland, Italy, Spain and certain central and east European countries;

11. Considering that, in accordance with the principles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, self-government can be defined here as the right and the ability of local and regional authorities, within the limits of the law, to regulate and manage a substantial share of public affairs under their own responsibility and in the interests of the local population;

12. Whereas local and regional authorities can be focal points for debating and solving problems of minorities, coexistence, solidarity and mutual acceptance;

13. While recognising that ethnic criteria should not be the only grounds on which particular areas should be granted some degree of local or regional self-government, and that historical or cultural traditions and geographical or economic situations may also warrant the granting of special powers or responsibilities to autonomous authorities;

14. Believe, nevertheless, that under certain circumstances, for instance when there are high concentrations of persons belonging to a minority on the territory of a municipality, province or region, when certain historical traditions exist or when particular areas are culturally and linguistically homogenous, etc, local self-government within the geographical area concerned is a very effective means of helping to solve the problem of minorities while avoiding the development of separatist tendencies;

15. Considering that citizens' loyalty to the State is based on the respect of human rights and the principles of democracy;

16. Believe also that, in some cases, cultural autonomy, which is a crucial element of local or regional self-government by minorities in their own areas, may, under certain circumstances, be an alternative to such self-government or may add to it;

17. Declare that minorities' territorial self-government should not be limited to States having federal or regional structures, but is also possible and desirable in unitary States; moreover, it does not endanger the State's sovereignty and territorial integrity;

18. Stress the fact that the self-government enjoyed by minorities does not necessarily have to take the same form as that granted to local or regional authorities, but may - and, indeed, must - include more extensive responsibilities, particularly with regard to culture and language, which should be backed up by the necessary funding;

19. Recall that transfrontier cooperation can contribute to the peaceful settlement of national minority issues as emphasised in the declaration of heads of State and government adopted in Vienna on 18 October 1993;

20. Stress that national measures guaranteeing effective equality among all State citizens and the appropriate legislative protection of minorities are, in any case, a pre-requisite to minorities' territorial autonomy;

A. Recommend that the CLRAE draw up a draft recommendation to governments indicating:

a. under what circumstances - for instance, ethnically homogenous areas, strong sense of belonging to a minority community, linguistic and cultural traditions that differ from those of the majority population, or the presence of different minority groups, etc - the relevant minorities should have the right to an appropriate form of self-government (municipal, provincial, regional), it being ensured that they continue fully to respect the territorial integrity of the state concerned and remain loyal to it;

b. the powers which the autonomous authorities concerned should, as a rule, be granted, as well as the right of such authorities to co-operate and form consortia in conformity with article 10 of the European Charter of Local Self-Government;

c. the means for ensuring that minorities' local and regional self-government actually help to integrate them into their national communities and European society as a whole, rather than isolating them from the latter;

d. the criteria to be applied when defining the geographic limits of the autonomous authorities, where the concentration of the minority population justifies the establishment of such authorities;

e. the need to consult, if appropriate through their representative organisations, the members of the minorities concerned, with regard to the granting, extension or any other modification of minority self-government at local or regional level in order to reach a consensus among all those concerned;

f. the forms local self-government should take and the institutions it should involve, as well as the way they should operate, when geographical, economic, social or historical factors mean that the territory of the authority concerned is populated by groups from different ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural backgrounds;

g. ways and means of promoting transfrontier co-operation between local and regional authorities in whose territory a significant number of minority members is concentrated;

B. Also recommend that the CLRAE take account of this declaration when finalising the draft European Charter of Regional Self-Government.