In October 2018, the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Council of Europe unanimously adopted a draft resolution calling for official recognition of sign languages with a view to enabling deaf persons to exercise their fundamental rights, such as the right to employment, education, access to health services and participation in political life.

Recognising sign languages as official languages would also contribute to promoting their use in public institutions, including national parliaments, to preventing discrimination and to further promoting the richness of deaf culture, and would send a powerful message of inclusion to the deaf community.

This issue will be debated during the next meeting of the Standing Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which will be held in Helsinki, on 23 November 2018.

Related links:

• Adopted draft report “Protecting and promoting sign languages in Europe” by the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination - Rapporteur: Ms Miren Edurne Gorrotxategui, Spain
• Recognising sign languages as official languages (news item, PACE, 9 October 2018)
• Standing Committee to meet in Helsinki (news item, PACE)

• International Day of Sign Languages and International Week of the Deaf 2018 (23 September)
• European Day of languages (26 September)

• Projects of the European Centre for Modern Languages of the Council of Europe:
  -- "Pro-Sign2 - Promoting excellence in sign language instruction" (2012-2016)
  -- "Pro-Sign - Sign languages and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages – Descriptors and approaches to assessment" (2011-2015)