ERRC Concerns: Romania

26 May 2005

In recent years, ERRC monitoring and field missions in Romania have established that Roma remain target of racially-motivated violence and police abuse, and are discriminated against in a number of fields of public life. Areas of particular concern include the following:

Violence against Roma continues to be reported with worrying frequency and intensity. Many such reports involve police action against Roma. Police abuse of Roma includes:

Abusive police raids targeting Romani communities;

Torture and ill-treatment of Roma in police custody;

Racist intimidation and harassment by police;

Instances of excessive use of force and firearms against Romani victims, resulting in injuries and sometimes even death.

When Roma rights violations occur, non-prosecution of the perpetrators is the norm. Romani victims are frequently denied justice for the following reasons:

Authorities often do not open criminal investigations when Roma fall victims to human rights abuse;

Police conduct inadequate and often purely formal investigations into anti-Romani actions;

Prosecutors intervene to cancel investigations or to bring non-indictment decisions;

Authorities retaliate against Roma who file complaints by pressing charges against the plaintiffs.

In some recent very serious cases of violence against Romani individuals, such as those taking place in Petrosani and Buhusi, when Romani persons have been killed or seriously injured as a result of beatings or use of firearms by either police officers or private bodyguards, there was no effective investigation into the matter by public authorities and no one has been brought to justice.

Discrimination in the field of housing, notably:

Local authorities in Romania have announced plans to segregate Roma in several localities;

Romanian authorities regularly engage in forced evictions of Roma, without providing adequate housing alternatives;

Because of extreme poverty and/or discrimination by local authorities and private landlords, many Roma live under constant threat of eviction;

Some flat-owners refuse to rent or sell housing facilities to Roma;

Romani settlements are often characterized by a lack of basic utilities such as electricity, running water, sanitation, access to transportation, etc.

Discrimination in access to medical care, including:

Roma have been denied access to medical facilities on racist grounds;

Additionally, the access of Romani persons to health services is often severely impeded because many Romani communities live in isolated villages or on the outskirts of the cities, in areas with neither public transportation nor readily available telephone service.

Discrimination in employment, including:

Roma are frequently explicitly excluded as potential applicants in job announcements;

Those Roma who are employed have frequently reported abusive treatment in the work place;

Even where discrimination is not explicit, racial animus plays a significant role in the failure of Roma to secure gainful employment;

Many Roma who practice traditional Romani crafts, such as smithing, face obstacles in receiving the necessary certificates in order to render their practices legal.

Discrimination in education, notably:

Many Romani children are excluded from school registration because they do not have identity documents;

Romani children who are in schools frequently attend racially segregated classes or schools;

In some instances, Roma children are segregated in schools for mentally disabled children;

Where Romani children attend regular schools, incidents of physical abuse and humiliating treatment by both the school staff and the non-Romani children are frequently reported.

Discrimination in access to goods and services, notably:

In numerous places throughout Romania, Roma are banned from access to, or are refused service in, shops, restaurants, discotheques, and other public places;

Local authorities engage in discriminatory practices in granting the social benefits prescribed by law to Romani persons.

As regards remedies available under Romanian anti-discrimination law, in practice access to justice has been arbitrarily limited, since decisions by the National Council Combating Discrimination (CNCD), the body in charge with implementation of Romanian anti-discrimination law, are final and no appeal on the merits of the case is possible. Further, access to the CNCD is difficult as there is only one office in the capital city and sometimes it is financially difficult for victims to travel or make long distance phone calls to pursue claims. Finally, the CNCD cannot award damages to victims; victims must take a finding from the body to a court in order to receive compensation.

Abuse of political rights, including access to citizenship:

As a result of not having valid identification papers or not having identity papers at all, many Roma are denied the right to vote;

Some of Roma cannot prove that they are Romanian citizens and, therefore, are excluded a priori from a whole range of rights and benefits.

Child homelessness:

The presence of Romani children living in the streets is visible, and figures available from non-governmental organisations indicate that Romani children are disproportionately over-represented in this group.