West Balkans and Turkey
(Last modified: 2007-01-30 09:07:57)
Summary of Pressing Concerns
This document aims to provide a briefing for the Commission on Roma rights matters in countries/regions of the West Balkans and Turkey. The document was prepared in response to Commission communication of 9 June 2006.
As a general matter of very pressing urgency, with the single and sole exception of Kosovo, none of the countries/entities at issues (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey) have incorporated the European Union anti-discrimination directives into the domestic legal order to a level of sufficiency. This is of particular concern at the moment with respect to Croatia, given (i) the relative advancement of Croatia’s candidacy for European Union membership, and (ii) the near-total silence in Croatia on the matter of adopting comprehensive anti-discrimination law in conformity with the Union acquis. The attention of the law- and policy-makers of all of the countries at issue here should be focused on the need to bring the legal order into compliance with EU law requirements, through the adoption of comprehensive anti-discrimination laws.
Above and beyond anti-discrimination law matters, country-specific issues are raised below.
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Head of Czech Police Apologises for Abuse of Powers by Police in Bohumin
(Last modified: 2006-10-20 08:08:30)
Apology Follows Confirmation of Court-Ordered Fine on Bohumin Municipality for Arbitrarily Cutting Off Hot Water to Roma Families
Eviction of Roma and Others from Hostel for the Poor Remains in Effect
19 October 2006, Bohumin, Prague, Budapest. Czech Police President Vladislav Husak has apologised on behalf of the Czech Police for its misuse of its powers in the town of Bohumin from 4-6 October 2005. Private security guards hired by the municipality to guard the “Hotelovy Dum”, a hostel for poor people, were preventing entry to a number of concerned parties trying to visit the facility. Hostel residents were part of a targeted campaign by Bohumin municipality to expel several hundred persons, a large number of them Romani, from the housing. Czech Police officers summoned to the scene declined to intervene on behalf of the residents and their visitors, despite the fact that a court injunction permitting normal use of the facility by the residents, including the right to receive visitors, was in effect at the time. After more than five hours of delay, the visitors were ultimately permitted entry, but on 6 October 2005, police forcibly expelled local activist and visitor Kumar Vishwanathan from the Hotelovy Dum, claiming a “new agreement” between the town and the police had been reached, that the police would not prevent the private security from barring any guests, and that, if necessary, they would aid in the removal of visitors. |
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ERRC Statement at OSCE HDIM: Romani Women’s Rights
(Last modified: 2006-10-16 10:16:25)
Statement on Romani Women’s Rights
On the Occasion of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Human Dimension Implementation Meeting
October 3, 2006, Warsaw
In recent years, attention by some grassroots activists, civil society groups, national governments and international organisations to violations of the fundamental rights of Romani women has increased. As a result, some positive steps have been taken. For example, the European Parliament recently adopted a report on the situation of Roma women in Europe and there has been an increase in research and programmes specifically focussing on Romani women. However, despite these positive steps, the worrying situation of many Romani women has hardly changed, if it has changed at all. Romani women continue to face pressure by families and communities to comply with certain customs and traditions degrading to women. At the same time, they also suffer widespread discrimination in the realisation of a number of fundamental human rights. In some cases, Romani women have suffered extreme harms at the hands of public officials, including via practices such as coercive sterilisation. Despite pressure to do otherwise, some Romani women are increasingly raising their voices and speaking out to challenge abuse. These actions have however frequently been met with either contempt or further attacks and repression on the parts of their families and communities, public media, government officials and even some civil society groups. Summaries of some ERRC concerns in the field of Romani women’s rights follow below. |
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Roma Rights in Russia
(Last modified: 2006-10-16 10:03:20)
The European Roma Rights Centre Remains Concerned about the Human Rights Situation of Roma in the Russian Federation
Statement on the occasion of Russian chairmanship of Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers, October 3, 2006, Strasbourg
The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is an international public interest law organisation engaging in a range of activities aimed at combating anti-Romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma.
ERRC has been monitoring Roma rights in Russia since 2000, revealing an alarming pattern of human rights abuse of Roma and other people perceived as "Gypsies". In May 2005, the ERRC issued a comprehensive report on the human rights situation of members of these groups, entitled "In Search of Happy Gypsies: Persecution of Pariah Minorities in Russia". In this report, ERRC charged that violence by law enforcement officials, paramilitary and nationalist-extremist groups, and discriminatory treatment of Roma in the exercise of civil, social and economic rights are aggravated by the complete absence of governmental action to address these problems. ERRC stated that the magnitude of the abuse is only comparable to that of the perpetrators' impunity. The report contained a number of concrete recommendations addressed to the competent authorities of the Russian Federation. |
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Actions to Challenge Women’s Rights Abuses in the Czech Republic
(Last modified: 2006-08-15 12:27:05)
US government, United Nations to Hear Testimony
Budapest, Brno, New York, Ostrava, Washington DC – August 15, 2006. Three important human rights events will take place this week on the issue of coercive sterilization of Romani women:
Today, expert testimony on problem of coercive sterilization of Romani women in the Czech Republic will be heard by the US Helsinki Commission, the US government’s premiere human rights watchdog agency.
During review of the Czech Republic’s compliance with international human rights law, human rights experts and victims of extreme abuses, will testify before the United Nations women’s rights committee (CEDAW) on 17 August.
Also 17 August a public event will be held in Ostrava, Czech Republic, to protest the continuing failure by Czech authorities to provide due legal remedy to victims of coercive sterilization.
These events aim to draw attention to the continuing failure by Czech policy- and lawmakers to ensure that women in the Czech Republic are protected from extreme harms such as violence at the hands of family members and coercive sterilization. |
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NGOs Urge Macedonian Authorities to Investigate Death of Trajan Bekirov
(Last modified: 2006-06-16 14:18:44)
Romani Youth Last Seen Alive While Being Chased by Police
16 June 2006, Budapest, Skopje. The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the National Roma Centrum (NRC) sent a letter to Dr. Vlado Buckovski, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia expressing grave concern about the recent death of a Romani youth named Trajan Bekirov, and urging that Macedonian authorities to carry out a prompt, thorough and effective investigation. Copies of the letter were also sent to Ms. Meri Mladenovska Gjorgjievska, Minister of Justice, Mr. Ljubomir Mihajlovski, Minister of Interior, and Mr. Aleksandar Prcevski, Public Prosecutor of the Republic of Macedonia. |
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