Bulgarian Parliament Rejects Draft Law for Desegregation Fund

11 March 2005

On October 7, 2004, the Bulgarian Parliament rejected the draft Law for the Establishment of a Fund for Minority Children in Education, which envisaged funding from the government and international lending institutions for education desegregation efforts in the country, according to press releases of the Bulgarian non-governmental organisations Human Rights Project (HRP) and Romani Baht Foundation (RBF). In justifying their opposition to the law, Members of Parliament stated that a fund targeting children from minority groups constituted discrimination against ethnic Bulgarian children, not withstanding domestic and international law provisions making clear that that is not the case. Bulgarian and international non-governmental organisations expressed dismay that the Bulgarian government had failed to secure its school desegregation policies with a monetary instrument.

(ERRC, HRP, RBF)