THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE LANGUAGE STANDARDS PROTECTION OF MINORITY LANGUAGES AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE FOR UKRAINE

Abstract

Abstract. As for most countries of the world, the problem of preservation and protection of regional or minority languages is relevant for modern Ukraine. It should be noted that there are no universal special international legal instruments on this issue. Today, European states under the leadership of the Council of Europe have achieved more significant results in this area. The main purpose of its work on this subject is to preserve and protect regional or minority languages in Europe as an integral part of Europe's cultural heritage. Analysing the legal situation with minority languages in Ukraine and the remarks of the monitoring bodies of the Council of Europe on this issue, we note that there is an urgent need to direct national lawmaking to improve national legislation and eliminate shortcomings and inconsistencies with European international legal standards in this area. The article examines the issues of cooperation between Ukraine and the Council of Europe on the protection and promotion of historical regional or minority languages, which contributes to the development of cultural wealth and traditions of Europe. The author examines the purpose of the adoption of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, its main provisions, and the particularities of the object of application. The reform of the monitoring mechanism of the Charter dated July 1, 2019 is analyzed. Special attention is paid to the application by Ukraine of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the problematic issues of its implementation.
Key words: The Council of Europe, Ukraine, regional or minority languages, language rights, language standards, multinational and multilingual population.