The situation of Roma in Europe and relevant activities of the Council of Europe
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 22 June 2010
(22nd Sitting) (see Doc.
12174, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Mr Berényi; Doc. 12207, opinion of the Committee
on Migration, Refugees and Population, rapporteur: Mrs Memecan;
and Doc. 12236,
opinion of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, rapporteur:
Mrs Kovács). Text adopted by the Assembly on
22 June 2010 (22nd Sitting). See also Recommendation 1924 (2010).
- Thesaurus
1. The Roma constitute the largest
minority in Europe and are present in virtually all Council of Europe member
states. All member states – without exception – have the moral and
legal duty to make concrete and sustained efforts to improve the
situation of Roma and to ensure the full respect of their fundamental
rights.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly is shocked by recent outrages against
Roma in several Council of Europe member states, reflecting an increasing
trend in Europe towards anti-Gypsyism of the worst kind.
3. Taking advantage of the financial crisis, extremist groups
capitalise on fears deriving from the equation made between Roma
and criminals, choosing a scapegoat that presents an easy target,
as Roma are among the most vulnerable groups of all.
4. This situation is reminiscent of the darkest hours in Europe’s
history. The Council of Europe was founded precisely to prevent
those dark hours from repeating themselves. The European Court of
Human Rights regularly condemns states in which Roma have suffered
from abuse or discrimination.
5. Besides the appalling rise in violence against Roma, the Assembly
observes that the process of Roma integration has not reached its
objectives over the last twenty years.
6. Assembly
Recommendation
1557 (2002) on the legal situation of Roma in Europe
already stressed that the aims set out in its
Recommendation 1203 (1993) on Gypsies
in Europe had been achieved only to a limited extent. The Assembly
now notes with great concern that the present situation is virtually
unchanged, if not worse. This is a shamefully poor record considering
the amount of paper – and money – dedicated to improving the situation
of Roma at all levels.
7. The Roma people are still regularly victims of intolerance,
discrimination and rejection based on deep-seated prejudices in
many Council of Europe member states. The situation of Roma with
regard to education, employment, housing, health care and political
participation is far from satisfactory. The Assembly is convinced that
effective and sustainable access to education and decent housing
are the first decisive steps towards breaking the vicious circle
of discrimination in which most of the Roma are locked.
8. The Assembly therefore urges all Council of Europe member
states to face up to their responsibilities and to tackle the issue
of the situation of Roma seriously and sustainably.
9. The Assembly notes that many member states have already adopted
national strategies for improving the situation and the integration
of Roma. This is a positive but insufficient step. Such action plans
need adequate and long-term funding as well as efficient co-ordination.
Last but not least, the implementation of such action plans must
be ensured also at local and regional levels.
10. The Assembly stresses that many initiatives remain too isolated
and too limited – therefore offering only partial responses. The
Assembly calls on member states to adopt national policies based
on an integrated approach. Relevant ministries and other players
must act in a concerted way, as the problems faced by the Roma are
inextricably linked.
11. The Assembly also notes that the concrete results of a wide
range of measures – including the national action plans – cannot
be properly evaluated because many governments refuse to collect
statistics based on ethnicity. In these circumstances, it seems
to be impossible to identify successful measures or to improve the less
successful ones.
12. Both the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities and the European Commission
against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) consider that the collection
of data based on ethnicity is a valuable tool for evaluating the
impact of minority policies and monitoring discrimination. Such data
should, in addition, be gender disaggregated.
13. The Assembly notes with concern that Roma remain extremely
under-represented in elected bodies and that their participation
in public and political life is limited. Considering that Roma representation
and involvement are just as important as official action, the Assembly
urges the Roma community to use every opportunity to be as active
as possible.
14. Finally, the Assembly notes a new trend within member states
to consider that the Roma issue falls under the responsibility of
international and European organisations. Whilst convinced of the
importance of the role of international organisations – and especially
of the Council of Europe – in this field, the Assembly reiterates
that the main responsibility lies with the member states. There
should be no shirking of responsibility: education, employment,
social inclusion, health services and housing are almost entirely
national responsibilities.
15. Therefore, the Assembly urges member states to:
15.1 treat the Roma issue not only
from the perspective of a socially disadvantaged group, but from the
perspective of a national minority entitled to enjoy the rights
enshrined in the Framework Convention for the Protection of National
Minorities (ETS No. 157) and in the European Convention on Human Rights
(ETS No. 5), as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights;
15.2 protect Roma from discrimination including, where not
in place already, through the adoption, implementation and regular
monitoring of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation as well
as measures to increase awareness among Roma of such legislation
and their access to legal remedies when their rights have been violated;
15.3 adopt sustainable national action plans and strategies
which follow an integrated approach in conformity with Committee
of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2008)5 on policies for Roma and/or Travellers
in Europe;
15.4 ensure that each ministry and decentralised or local government
institution has effectively functioning structures capable of implementing
these plans and strategies and that they act in a concerted way;
15.5 put in place means of supervision of the way local authorities
implement parts of national action plans and strategies that fall
under their competence and sanction any failure to do so;
15.6 enhance political participation and representation of
Roma both at national and local level, inter alia,
by providing Roma with the necessary identity documents, removing
institutional discrimination and legal barriers and/or by allocating
reserved seats to Roma representatives in parliament as well as
in local and regional elected bodies;
15.7 collect reliable statistical data – including ethnic and
gender-disaggregated data – with the necessary strict safeguards
to avoid any abuse, in line with ECRI’s recommendations and the
opinion of the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for
the Protection of National Minorities, and to analyse these data
carefully in order to assess the results and to enhance the effectiveness
of the existing plans and programmes;
15.8 promote a positive image of diversity and address stereotypes
and prejudices, including those linked to gender, using for instance
the Dosta! campaign developed by the Council of Europe; strongly condemn
and effectively prosecute acts of anti-Gypsyism; respond more effectively
to, and invest greater resources in, combating racially motivated
crime against Roma; react strongly to racist discourse by public
officials; develop policies and training programmes to combat anti-Roma
prejudices amongst law enforcement officials; and tackle hate speech
vis-à-vis Roma, whether occurring in the media, politics or in civil
society;
15.9 base all action intended to improve the situation of Roma,
at every stage of the process, on prior and genuine consultation
and co-operation with the Roma themselves;
15.10 consider taking positive action in order to combat discrimination
and to improve the opportunities offered to Roma, in particular
in the fields of education and employment;
15.11 promote the use and development of Roma culture, language
and lifestyle by promoting, for instance, the Roma Cultural Route
developed by the Council of Europe;
15.12 take special measures to protect Roma asylum seekers who
have fled racist violence, to ensure that citizens of the European
Union (EU) have the possibility to rebut the presumption of safety
that applies in respect of EU member states, and to avoid returning
Roma to Kosovo until the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed that the situation there has sufficiently
improved in terms of security and access to social rights.
16. As regards education, the Assembly urges member states to:
16.1 fully implement Committee of
Ministers Recommendations No. R (2000) 4 on the education of Roma/Gypsy
children in Europe and CM/Rec(2009)4 on the education of Roma and
Travellers in Europe;
16.2 dismantle segregated schooling by ensuring the effective
and non-segregated access of Roma to mainstream education and develop
their pre-school enrolment while expecting the Roma to accept that
they should fulfil their obligations with regard to education;
16.3 train teachers adequately, increase the number of Roma
teachers and enrol – as appropriate – Roma school mediators;
16.4 ensure that Roma girls are given equal opportunities in
education, in particular secondary education, which too many Roma
girls are obliged to drop out of because of parental and/or community pressure
linked to early marriage, teenage pregnancies, and household and
family responsibilities;
16.5 where appropriate – and where there is a demand within
the Roma minority – assist them institutionally and legally to set
up minority schools based on their own language and identity;
16.6 increase the number of Roma students in secondary schools
and universities, where appropriateby
allocating places for Roma, in particular Roma girls;
16.7 undertake, in conjunction with civil society organisations,
gender-sensitive studies on the situation of children from minority
groups in the school system, by compiling statistics on their attendance,
completion and drop-out rates, results achieved and progress made,
as recommended in ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 10 on combating
racism and racial discrimination in and through school education.
17. As regards housing, the Assembly urges member states to:
17.1 fully implement Committee of
Ministers Recommendation Rec(2005)4 on improving the housing conditions
of Roma and Travellers in Europe and seriously take into consideration
the opinion of the Committee of Experts on Roma and Travellers (MG-S-ROM),
adopted in October 2009, on the housing situation of Roma and Travellers
in Europe;
17.2 implement fully the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for
Human Rights 2009 recommendation on the implementation of the right
to housing and ensure that Roma’s living conditions meet the criteria of
adequate housing;
17.3 unequivocally condemn all attacks on Roma living areas,
settlements and camps, and prosecute those responsible for them;
17.4 as a priority, address the problem of domestic violence
within the Roma community, in particular violence against women
and girls, as well as the human rights violation constituted by
forced and child marriages in accordance with Assembly
Resolution 1468 (2005) on
the subject;
17.5 take urgent measures to prevent further forced evictions
of Roma camps and settlements and – in cases of unavoidable evictions
– ensure that such evictions are carried out only when all procedural protections
required under international human rights law are in place, including
the provision of adequate alternative housing, adequate compensation
for expropriation and losses of moveable possessions damaged in
the process of eviction; in the absence of such procedural protections,
member states should introduce legislation on evictions, providing
safeguards and remedies in accordance with international standards.
18. As regards employment, the Assembly urges member states to:
18.1 fully implement Committee of
Ministers Recommendation Rec(2001)17 on improving the economic and
employment situation of Roma/Gypsies and Travellers in Europe;
18.2 develop employment policies for the Roma population by
adopting comprehensive national employment programmes and monitoring
their implementation at local level;
18.3 while so doing, readjust employment policies to the needs
of the local Roma communities and the local markets;
18.4 build upon existing good practices such as the creation
of Roma employment mediators, or the development of special internship
programmes for Roma in the civil service in order to increase Roma representation
within the state and local administration.
19. As regards health care, the Assembly urges member states to:
19.1 fully implement Committee of
Ministers Recommendation Rec(2006)10 on better access to health
care for Roma and Travellers in Europe;
19.2 enhance Roma access to health services, inter alia by building upon existing
good practices such as campaigns to ensure immunisation for Roma
children, the training of Roma health mediators and the setting-up
of mobile clinics;
19.3 in particular, provide on a regular basis outreach services
for Roma women and girls who otherwise have little access to medical
services, pay special attention to gynaecological and maternal health,
and ensure the availability of continuing health education (in particular
sexual and reproductive health education) taking into account social
and cultural factors influencing the health of Roma women;
19.4 ban and punish forced sterilisation and provide for compensation
for all victims.
20. The Assembly also urges in particular the relevant authorities
to take immediate action and to relocate as a matter of urgency
the inhabitants of the lead-contaminated camp of Mitrovicë/Mitrovica
(Kosovo
Note).
21. In addition, the Assembly supports the strengthening and development
of the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) – a unique Europe-wide
body – in order to enhance both the representation and the co-ordination
of Roma at European level.
22. Furthermore, the Assembly strongly encourages the national
delegations to the Assembly to include members of the Roma minority
if they are represented in their parliament.
23. Roma are currently not represented at all in the Assembly.
It therefore resolves to propose a co-operation agreement between
the Assembly and the ERTF on the basis of which representatives
of the ERTF would have regular contact with the relevant committees
of the Assembly and could attend their meetings.
24. The Assembly calls on the Roma community and its representatives
to fight discrimination and violence against Roma women and girls
in their own community. In particular, the problems of domestic
violence and of forced and child marriages, which constitute a violation
of human rights, need to be addressed also by the Roma community
itself. Custom and tradition cannot be used as an excuse for human
rights violations, but should instead be changed. The Assembly calls
on member states to support Romani women activists who engage in
debates within their community about the tensions between the preservation
of a Romani identity and the violation of women's rights including
through early and forced marriages.
25. Finally, given the urgency of improving the situation of Roma
in a wide range of areas, the Assembly decides to come back to this
question in more depth in due course.
