Prof. Giandonato CAGGIANO, lecturer in International Law at the University of Naples, Scientific Head of the International Society for International Organization.

ABSTRACT: Document on Esperanto prepared for the 36th Congress of the Radical Party (Rome, Hotel Ergife, 30 April - 3 may)

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In a society increasingly characterized by processes of internationalization and in which incessant technological advances contribute to an ever more efficient spread of knowledge and ideas we must avoid the mistake of neglecting the distinctive cultural features and especially the language (which is basically their phonetic expression) of the various ethnic groups.

The lack of knowledge and understanding of these distinctive features would, in fact, risk compromising, in the words of the Charter of the United Nations, the "friendly relations between peoples" and therefore every process of cooperation and peace.

The question of safeguarding the right to language is to be considered in the context of this issue and is connected to a broader human right, that of participating in cultural life, which is, in turn, the peoples' right to self-determination.

In fact, from a legal point of view, Art. 1 of the Covenant of Human Rights and Art. 55 of the Charter of the United Nations, set out the possibility of cultivating the right to one's own culture (which as such is expressly mentioned in Art. 27 of the Declaration of Human Rights and in Art. 15 of the Convention of Social, Cultural and Economic Rights) as the exercise of the broader right to self-determination.

The right to language is, on the contrary, expressly set out in Art. 27 of the Pact of Civil and Political Rights.

The right in question has been particularly promoted through the activity of UNESCO.

In fact, various acts have underlined how every culture has its own dignity and every man has the right to develop it, since, in their diversity and variety, all cultures and hence the languages that represent them, belong to a common heritage.

However, the fact remains that the various acts in which the activity of UNESCO finds expression are not legally binding for nations.

Moreover the above-mentioned agreements, though they create a legal obligation for the states that have signed them, do not entail legal and coercive proceedings that guarantee their application. Thus the implementation of the contents of the above-mentioned articles and acts is left to the "good will" of the states concerned.

In this regard it must be underlined that there have been various regional conferences where the right to culture has been discussed: Helsinki in 1976 (concerning Europe), Jakarta in 1973 (concerning Asia), Accra in 1975 (concerning Africa) and Bogota' in 1978 (Concerning South America).

If we turn to the act that interests us most, in other words, the last Act of Helsinki, the chapter on education contains the section "Language and Civilization" which urges the translation of the literature of less widely spoken and studied languages.

The democracy much talked of today can in fact survive only if it is supported by an authentic democratic culture which is such to the extent that it ensures the respect of differences.

The use of a world language is the suitable means to this end.

Esperanto, which was constructed in 1887, is in fact promoted by 27 international organizations registered at the Office of International Organizations.

UNESCO itself, which began to create international ideographic writing in 1960, expressly promoted the adoption of Esperanto through an act of the General Conference,

However, these are only steps towards the promotion of an international language, which as such respects the individual national languages. However, the fact still remains that these acts are generally not legally binding. This is true of both the UNESCO acts and the last Act of Helsinki.

Only the habitual international use of Esperanto in the sphere of multilateral and bilateral relations would create the general obligation to use this language.

However, given the objective difficulty in achieving this, a goal that could be proposed at a political level in order to extend the sphere of promoting Esperanto would be to promote international agreements sanctioning the obligation to use this language in relations between the undersigned states.

This result will be obtained if states are sensitized to the problem.

Consequently the campaigns to spread the use and knowledge of the usefulness of Esperanto play a major role in achieving this end.