United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child Reviews Romania
10 May 2003
During its 32nd session, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee reviewed Romania. In its Concluding Observations, issued on January 31, 2003, the Committee noted:
"5. The Committee regrets that many of the concerns and recommendations (CRC/C/15/Add.16) it made upon consideration of the State party's initial report (CRC/C/3/Add.16) have been insufficiently addressed. The Committee notes that many of the same concerns and recommendations are made in the present document, such as discrimination between girls and boys in the relation to the minimum-age for marriage, that the 1954 Family Code and adoption legislation have yet to be revised, and discrimination of children belonging to the Roma community.
25. [...] the Committee is concerned that the principle of non-discrimination is not fully implemented for all children in all parts of the State party; that unequal enjoyment of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights persists (i.e. for children with disabilities, with HIV/AIDS, in care institutions, in detention, asylumseeking and refugee children, foreign children, children between 16 and 18 years, and children belonging to poor households, Roma and other minority groups).
32. [...] the Committee remains concerned at the lack of measures to prevent non-registration of children and is concerned at the high number of stateless persons, in particular among the Roma.
33. The Committee recommends that the State party: a) strengthen efforts to ensure birth registration of all children, paying particular attention to occurrences of non-registration of Roma children;
52. [...] the Committee is concerned that: [..] d) children belonging to certain categories do not benefit from equal opportunities as concerns education (i.e. children from less favoured families; children with disabilities; children affected by HIV/AIDS; children living in the streets; the Roma and refugee children).
53. The Committee recommends that the State party, taking into account the Committee's general comment No. 1 on the aims of education: [...] b) make every effort to ensure that compulsory education, and possibly secondary education, is free for all children in the State party; [...].
64. [?] it (the Committee) remains concerned at the negative attitudes and prejudices among the general public, in the political discourse, media representations, incidents of police brutality, and discriminatory behaviours on the part of some teachers and doctors.
65. In accordance with article 2 and 30 of the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party: a) initiate campaigns at all levels and in all regions aimed at addressing negative attitudes towards Roma in society-at-large, and in particular among authorities such as the police, and professionals providing health care, education and other social services; b) based on the evaluation of previous strategies, develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for the improvement of access to primary health care, education and social welfare services, in cooperation with Roma NGO partners, and targeting the whole Roma child population; and c) develop curriculum resources for all schools, including in relation to Roma history and culture, in order to promote understanding, tolerance and respect of Roma in Romanian society."
The full text of the Committee's Concluding Observations on Romania are available on the Internet at: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu2/6/crc/doc/co/co-romania-2.pdf
(ERRC)
