Roma Rights at the Centre of European Commission Concerns in Bulgaria and Romania
27 October 2005
Human Rights, Social Inclusion and Integration of Roma Key Elements of Comprehensive Monitoring Reports on Preparations for Accession to the European Union
Budapest, Brussels. Comprehensive monitoring reports published this week on preparations by Bulgaria and Romania for accession to the European Union placed Roma rights issues at the centre of EU concerns about the state of preparedness of both countries for European Union membership. For use by policy-makers, practitioners and media, the ERRC summarises below issues the Commission has identified as in need of urgent work by the governments of Bulgaria and Romania in the run-up to accession.
On general matters related to the adoption of international human rights instruments, listed under chapters on "co-operation in the field of justice and home affairs", the Commission noted, with respect to both countries, that there had been "no developments" since 2004 in the ratification of international human rights legal instruments. The Commission further expressed concern that Romania has not yet ratified Protocol 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms dealing with the general prohibition of discrimination, while Bulgaria has not yet even signed it.
The Commission devoted attention to Roma rights issues specifically under a number of chapters, and most extensively those devoted to "protection and integration of minorities" and "social affairs and employment". These include detailed comments on current state of play in implementing EU law banning discrimination, as well as specific areas of concern with respect to the fundamental rights of Roma. The Commission notes that Romanian law still does not comply with EU Directives specifying the requirements, contours and content of domestic anti-discrimination law.
The report on Bulgaria reads as follows on "protection and integration of minorities":
"The effective and sustainable integration of Roma remains an issue of major concern. The efforts made by Bulgaria to implement the "Framework Programme for Equal Integration of Roma into Bulgarian Society" lack sufficient strategic approach, coordination and finance. This Framework Programme is still in its early stages, and related documents and action plans adopted by the government remain largely on paper.
"Key reforms in combating discrimination in education, healthcare and housing are still outstanding. A long-term action plan in line with the "Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015" (launched in Sofia in February 2005) has been drawn up and contains objectives in the areas of education, healthcare, housing, culture and discrimination. Bulgaria needs to ensure that this action plan is properly resourced and implemented.
"A number of cases were filed under the Protection against Discrimination Act, and in three cases the Sofia Electricity Supply Company was found guilty of treating Roma customers unfavourably in relation to non-Roma customers. An independent Commission for Protection against Discrimination, as envisaged by the law, was established in 2005.
"The strategic documents and programmes on the educational integration of children from the Roma minority have not significantly changed the situation on the ground. Initiatives aimed at attracting and keeping Roma children in school (e.g. free lunches, subsidised textbooks, teacher assistants in schools with Roma students, bussing programmes) were largely unsuccessful. Although an Agency for Educational Integration of Children and Pupils from Ethnic Minorities has been established, this body has not succeeded so far in fulfilling its main function, namely the coordination of efforts made by different ministries to enhance the educational integration of children from minorities. As already outlined in the 2004 Report, a number of Roma children of mainstream mental ability still continue to be placed in special schools following poorly controlled assessments.
"Many Roma continue to be excluded from access to healthcare services. A Health Strategy for Disadvantaged Members of Ethnic Minorities and an associated action plan were adopted in September 2005. The elaboration of this strategy and action plan forms an important part of the Framework Programme for Equal Integration of Roma into Bulgarian Society. Although several initiatives are ongoing with international donor support, a long-awaited National Housing Strategy for Roma has not yet been adopted.
"A number of national employment programmes aimed inter alia at addressing long-term unemployment amongst Roma have continued. However, in order to increase their effectiveness, these initiatives need to be further combined with complementary measures such as family counselling and professional assistance in searching for a job.
"In spite of the establishment of a new National Council for Cooperation on Ethnic and Demographic Issues, the administrative capacity of the State structure dealing with minority issues continues to be weak. The body is not yet fully operational, and it remains to be seen whether the chosen structure will provide for the powers necessary for effective minority rights protection, including enhanced political influence and staffing. In particular, attention should be paid to ensuring sufficient consultation with Roma representatives with a view to developing and implementing the State policy on the integration of Roma.
"The Bulgarian authorities should demonstrate, at all levels, that the country applies a zero-tolerance policy on racism against Roma or against any other minority or group and that this policy is effectively implemented."
The parallel chapter in the Romania report, the section devoted to "protection and integration of minorities", states as follows:
"Concerning the Roma minority, very limited progress was registered in the functioning of the structures - in particular the National Agency for Roma in its capacity as the reorganised Office for Roma issues - involved in the implementation of the 2001 Roma Strategy. The Joint Committee for Implementation and Monitoring remains very weak in terms of activity. Staffing should be further strengthened and, together with improved inter-sectoral coordination, budgetary resources should be significantly enhanced at central and local levels. The appointment, in July 2005, of a new head for the National Agency, coming from the Roma community and without political affiliation, is an encouraging sign of the government's willingness to begin integrating Roma organisations in the implementation and monitoring of the strategy.
"Positive developments have been made in improving access of Roma to education and health sectors. The number of reported cases of police violence against Roma has begun to decrease. There have been reports of cases of traffic accidents involving Roma victims being closed without a full investigation being carried out. The National Council for Combating Discrimination has imposed sanctions in cases of discrimination but, de facto discrimination against the Roma minority, especially at local level, continues to be widespread, in particular as regards housing and access to social services and the labour market (see also Chapter 13 - Social Policy and Employment). The Romanian authorities should demonstrate, at all levels, that the country applies a zero-tolerance policy on racism against Roma or against any other minority or group and that this policy is effectively implemented.
"Romania is participating in the "Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015" that was launched in Sofia in February 2005. It took over responsibility for the Secretariat of the Decade in mid-2005. A long-term action plan in line with the Decade has been drawn up and contains objectives in the areas of education, healthcare, housing, culture and discrimination. Romania needs to ensure that this action plan is properly resourced and implemented."
As to "social affairs and employment", the other rubric of both reports under which the European Commission provides extensive comment related to Roma, these read as follows:
Bulgaria:
"… Concerning employment policy, further efforts are necessary to effectively implement the priorities identified in the Joint Assessment Paper on Employment Priorities in a more coherent and efficient way, including the integration of ethnic minority groups, in particular Roma, on the labour market. There is a need to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Bulgarian Public Employment Services, in particular as regards organisational issues, staff training and strengthening of the human and financial resources available. Furthermore, there is a need to activate the important number of persons who do not participate in the Labour Market.
"… Enhanced efforts are required particularly in relation to health care and child welfare. The problem of inappropriate living conditions in institutions has also to be addressed urgently, including the need to improve the de-institutionalisation process and to further develop an alternative system of community-based social services. Moreover, further efforts are needed to improve the situation of vulnerable groups and promote their full integration into society, such as the Roma community, who face extremely high risks of poverty, exclusion and isolation across the country or the persons with disabilities by improving access to public areas, buildings and transport as well as to education and the labour market.
"Concerning anti-discrimination, the law on protection against discrimination is largely in line with the acquis in this area. Minor adjustments are still necessary as regards instructions to discriminate and the legal standing of associations. The equality body required by the acquis has been established and legislation has started to be applied by Bulgarian courts in several cases to protect victims of discrimination. The Commission for Prevention of Discrimination has been established but it is not clear whether it has sufficient human and financial resources in order to perform its functions independently. Despite continuous efforts, the situation of the Roma minority still requires fundamental improvements."
Romania:
"In the field of public health, … [f]urther efforts are needed in the implementation of the National Plan of Action for the surveillance and control of communicable diseases, including strengthening the capacity of the National Centre for Communicable Diseases. The coverage of the surveillance system should be improved to reach out to the most vulnerable groups, such as the Roma minority. Access to health care, including preventive services, should be ensured for all citizens in order to improve the health status of the population. The health system is in need of reform to improve the efficiency and effectiveness. The persistent problem of ill-treatment in psychiatric hospitals needs to be addressed immediately.
"Concerning employment policy, further efforts are necessary to effectively implement the priorities identified in the Joint Assessment Paper of Employment Policy Priorities in a more coherent and effective way, including the integration of ethnic minority groups, in particular Roma, on the labour market. There is a need to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Romanian public employment services and to effectively activate labour market measures.
"… Analytical work and development of social statistics on poverty and social exclusion should be continued in line with the EU's commonly agreed indicators on social inclusion. Moreover, further efforts are needed to improve the situation of vulnerable groups and promote their full integration into society, such as Roma community, who faces extremely high risks of poverty, exclusion and isolation across the country, or the persons with disabilities, by improving access to public areas, buildings and transport as well as to education and the labour market. The efforts to develop an inclusive strategy that aims at closing and restructuring large residential institutions by developing alternative community-based services, support to families and smaller residential units have to be continued and reinforced.
"… Legislative alignment in the field of anti-discrimination is still to be completed especially as regards the shift of the burden of proof in order to have in place an efficient anti-discrimination mechanism in Romania. The overall administrative capacity of the National Council for Combating Discrimination should be enhanced, including funding, transparency and general awareness of its activities, and its independence should be guaranteed. Its relationship with the National Agency for Equal Opportunities also needs to be further clarified. Effective implementation of the legislation on the ground is still to be ensured. Despite promising efforts, the situation of the Roma minority still requires fundamental improvements. Public expression of racism against vulnerable groups, such as Roma, should be brought to an end. Due attention should be paid to awareness-raising activities in order to eradicate prejudices and stereotypes in society.
"… Access to health services, particularly for the Roma minority, needs to be enhanced, and immediate attention should be paid to the improvement of the health status of the population and to health expenditure. Improvement of the treatment of inmates in psychiatric hospitals and of the living conditions of the Roma minority must be prioritised. Unless significant additional efforts are made in the fields of public health, European Social Fund and social inclusion, there is a serious risk that Romania will not have duly functioning structures in place by the date of accession. In general terms, increased efforts are needed to strengthen the administrative capacity."
Aside from these primary passages of the two reports, Roma appear under a number of other EU concerns:
Concerning Bulgaria, the Commission report notes: "Roma children are still disproportionately represented among victims of trafficking." The report also states: "There continue to be reports of cases of ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, including excessive use of firearms and force by the police. Reports indicate that ill-treatment of persons in custody disproportionately affects Roma. In a number of cases, investigations of complaints of police ill-treatment were not prompt, thorough and impartial."
Concerning Romania, the Commission report states: "There are still reports of ill-treatment by law enforcement personnel, including excessive use of force and use of lethal force in non-compliance with EU and international standards. As in the past, many of the victims were Roma. Judicial review of such complaints is rare and few disciplinary sanctions have been handed down in such cases. The legal maximum length of pre-trial detention appears to be respected, though there are still instances of pre-trial detainees being put in police cells with convicted criminals, which violates both domestic law and Romania's international treaty obligations. This situation should now be resolved urgently."
The full texts of the European Commission's comprehensive monitoring reports on Bulgaria and Romania are available at:
