ECRI Releases Third Report on Roma in Portugal
19 June 2007
On 13 February 2007, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) made public its third report on Portugal, which, amongst other human rights concerns, highlighted the persistent social exclusion of Romani communities in the country.
In its report, ECRI contended that substandard living conditions persist in many Romani neighbourhoods and that many Roma are arbitrarily evicted from their homes by local governments agencies. In their report, the ECRI recommended that Portuguese authorities investigate the housing situation of Roma and urged them to address discrimination that perpetuates the poor living conditions of Portuguese Roma.
ECRI also highlighted that Portuguese Roma face exclusion when it comes to employment, noting that many Roma earn a living through informal trading. Roma employed in this sector are losing income earning ability as a result of strong competition from large scale shopping chains, according to ECRI, and they are also subjected to excessive surveillance by authorities and undue hostility at vending sites. ECRI also expressed concern in its report that vocational training initiatives for young Roma provided by NGOs have been largely unsuccessful due to persist racist attitudes by employers. ECRI encouraged the Portuguese government to continue to combat anti-Romani attitudes, to continue training programmes for Roma and to enforce penalties against racist employers.
With regard to education, ECRI noted the alarmingly poor access of Romani children to public education and a very high school drop-out rate amongst Romani children, which is encouraged by ethnic Portuguese parents who protest against their children being placed in the same classroom as Romani students. ECRI recommended that Portuguese authorities continue efforts to increase school attendance by Roma.
ECRI also reported with regret that instances of racism by members of local populations and local authority representatives continue. In its report, ECRI urged Portuguese authorities to make clear that racist or anti-Romani statements or conduct will not be tolerated.
ECRI noted with regret reports by local civil society organisations that no real progress had been made on these issues and that many acts of anti-Gypsyism are ignored by local authorities. ECRI asserted that fact that Portugal had not established an all-encompassing national strategy to combat racism is unacceptable and encouraged the Portuguese government to increase the number of positive action initiatives to facilitate Romani inclusion. The full text of ECRI's report is available on the Internet at: ECRI.
(ERRC)
