DECISION ON THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF LANGUAGES PROCLAIMED
BY THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON 16 MAY 2007
The Assembly:
RECALLS the proclamation of 2008 as Year of African Languages and notes the poor mobilization of Member States for its celebration;
REAFFIRMS the special role of African languages in the socioeconomic and cultural development, as well as in the political integration of the Continent;
WELCOMES the proclamation, by the 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, of 2008 as International Year of Languages;
URGES Member States to seize this opportunity to increase mobilization for the promotion and enhancement of African languages, through various activities at local, national and regional levels, in order to ensure Africa’s contribution to the celebration of the International Year of Languages, as an extension of the Year of African Languages;
INVITES Member States to accelerate the implementation of the Language Plan of Action for Africa revised in Khartoum, and take the necessary measures to give African Languages the status of official working languages, together with the languages inherited from the colonial era;
INVITES the Regional Economic Communities to spare no effort, with the support of the African Academy of Languages (ACALAN), to make some common transborder languages official working languages in all areas of education and employment, together with the languages inherited from the colonial era;
REQUESTS AU Commission to ensure that ACALAN is provided with the means to coordinate the activities of 2008 - International Year of Languages, in cooperation with UNESCO, the MAAYA Network, the World Network for Linguistic Diversity and other partners.