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European Roma and Travellers
Forum c/o Council of F – 67 075 Tel.: + 33 3 90 21 53 50 Fax: +
33 3 90 21 44 34 e-mail:
ertf@ertf.org www.ertf.org |
ERTF Update
15/2007 04.07.07
Political Developments
European
Roma and Travellers Forum
“We
have now the possibility to take an influence on policy-making”
Rudko Kawczynski, 53, is the first elected president of the European
Roma and Travellers Forum. Coming from the civil rights movement he aims to use
the means of an NGO to gain influence over political processes and get Roma a
better life.
Update:
The European Roma and Travellers Forum has been established four years ago when
it was registered in the associations’ register of the city of
Rudko Kawczynski: First, it is not just four
years, because we worked 17 years towards the fulfilment of our dream, and it
is only thanks to the initiative of the Finnish President, Ms. Tarja Hallonen,
and to the support of the Finnish and French governments that the Forum could
be finally established.
The last four years were particularly
challenging, because we entered into negotiations with the Committee of
Ministers over the partnership agreement. And this meant that we had to reach a
consensus, a consensus with 46 [Council of Europe member] states as there were
at that time, and we managed. This is why it was also a time of great
satisfaction and of great responsibility.
What are the main problems in running an organisation
such as the Forum? Do you feel that you receive sufficient support both from
Roma and non-Roma?
RK: We have
the task to bring together a network of organisations in almost 47 countries,
an area much larger than the European Union. We have to deal with linguistic,
cultural, and religious differences. These differences reflect upon our daily
work among ourselves Roma, Sinti, Travellers and other groups, but also in our
communication with international organizations such as the Council of Europe.
Could
you perhaps give us examples?
RK: For
instance, we have faced some problems with the implementation of the
partnership agreement. As an NGO we have a particular status with the Council
of Europe which allows us to work within the Council of Europe’s
structures. But at the same time, we have also to deal with these structures.
You can easily
imagine that the unification of these two organizations has not been easy. We
have on the one hand the Council of Europe with its conceptions and ways of
functioning. On the other hand, we as the Forum have the task to help our
people as much and as quickly as possible. This has been one of the greatest
challenges.
Another problem has been the cooperation
within the Executive Committee. Our Executive Committee comprises ten people,
people from different countries and backgrounds, and belonging to different
political groups: Some of our board members are members of political parties
which are part of government coalitions. But we have also people like me who
come from the civil rights movement and who do not accept any compromise when
it comes to human rights.
You have already mentioned the partnership
agreement you have signed with the Council of
RK: The partnership agreement gives us a
unique possibility to have a direct influence on the policies of the Council of
Europe and, via this, on the implementation of human rights in the Council of
Europe member states.
At the same time we have, and this is also
unique, a direct access to the Council of Europe member states via the
embassies. This allows us to raise issues on a bilateral level. But this is
something we need to explain to our people: We are not at the European Commission. There is no money to be
distributed here. This is a place where human rights are protected, and where
we need to be present as the voice of our people. This is the ambition of the
Forum, to be the voice of the Roma, the voice of those who have not been heard
so far.
What is at the moment your main political
concern?
RK: My biggest
concern is the rising anti-Gypysism in
One of the most terrible experiences we have
been through over the last years is the persecution of Roma in Kosovo. The
international community has failed in the Yugoslav conflict. It did not just
forget the Roma; it excluded them on purpose. The Roma were simply unwanted in
this whole process.
In Kosovo, 200,000 Roma have been chased
away. More than 1,000,000 people have left the former
When the Forum was set up there were
different ideas as to what the Forum should be. Some had in mind another form
of political representation. Do you think that you have been able to convince
your critics, or does it proof that they were right?
RK: I do not
want to hope that we managed to convince our critics since we need criticisms.
In fact I believe that we are our fiercest critics. It was necessary to find a
compromise and we did. Finding a compromise does not mean to get the best
possible deal, but it also does not mean getting the worst deal.
I am a bit
worried about the fact that Roma political parties bring in their national
interests and party politics into the Forum. We have been aware about this
problem since the beginning, but we nevertheless insisted in bringing together
all political and other organisations into the Forum where all these
differences as well as others such as the demands of women and use but also
religious differences should be discussed, and where we unite our efforts in
order to fight against racism and anti-Gypsyism.
What has
the Forum achieved so far? Did it make any difference to the life of Roma in
RK: I have said so before, and also as the
president of the European Roma and Travellers Forum, that we should be very
careful and not accept the role of a scapegoat as if we were in a position to
change much.
It is indeed the states who decide about the
policy in their country, about the policy in the field of education, social
polices and about minority policies. International organisations such as the
Council of Europe can set standards, but it rests upon the states to put
implement them.
We as the Forum do not have any power to
implement anything, but we have now the possibility which we did not have
before to be heard, to take an influence on policy-making by using the means
which are available to an NGO in order to make sure
that the rights of Roma are respected.
For sure things will not change immediately, but without the Forum they will
never change.
Some say
that the Forum is not really visible in their country. Many Roma do not even
know the name of their national representatives. How can you explain this fact?
RK: This is
indeed a big issue which I have difficulties to understand. But one of the
reasons is for sure that we neither have the financial means nor the necessary
staff members to prepare and launch quick and efficient public campaigns. But
we are into ways to improve this.
We are still very much at the beginning of a
long process. We are currently preparing to set up national Roma umbrella
organisations which can truly represent the interests of Roma in their country.
And we are developing our network. This is why we have applied for [European]
Commission’s funding.
This is where
we stand now, in the process of establishing a truly efficient and
representative Romani interest representation, and this will be one of our
major tasks for the coming years. This will be a painful process especially for
those who have had a comfortable life as self-acclaimed experts or Romani
leaders
In this context, I should also say that I am
slightly worried about the tendency of some foundations to fight Roma
organisations by establishing their own Roma representation. To make things
worse, there are more and more foundations and international organisations
which behave in the same way as NGOs and start to compete over funding.
Where do
you see the future of the Forum? Is this doomed to remain an organisation among
others as it is seen by many, in particular, non-Roma or do you have something
else in mind? What will be your next steps in order to achieve your goals?
RK: The Forum
is not just an organisation among others. It is an organisation which is made
of other organisations. For the first time since 1937, Roma have managed to set
up an independent international structure. [In 1937, several dozens of Roma
organisations gathered in
I would just
like to mention one example, the development of a “European Roma Rights
Charter“ as a kind of party programme, but also as a political mandate
for the Forum to discuss with the Council of Europe how these our demands can
be implemented into national legislation. This is a task which needs to be seen
in a medium- and long-term perspective, but which is nevertheless important. In
the long run, we need to establish common standards for our people everywhere.
If you were able to fulfil a wish what would
it be?
RK: If I would have a wish it would be very
small and modest. I would wish that we could involve more qualified people in
our work.
If the same had to be started all over again
would you still be available for the job?
RK: How can you ask such a thing! If I would
have to start it all over again, this would mean that we did not achieve
anything! But is of course another question whether this job is not too
demanding and leads to exhaustion, because it is indeed a very difficult job.
It is not a job in a proper sense. I am
fighting for change, for a change in the life of my children, grand-children and
great-grand children, also for myself and my family and friends, for the whole
group and people . This is why I
don’t have the choice. The question is not whether I do the job or not. I
am simply part of the process.
Forum
raises refugee returns with UN High Commissioner
Strasbourg,
Forum's Chief Executive Officer raised the Forum's concerns as regards to the
situation of Roma refugees from the former
issue of forced repatriation of Kosovo Roma to Kosovo and to
She added that the Forum shares the concern expressed by Amnesty International
in its recent report on minority returns to Kosovo according to which the fact
that the UNHCR did not update its “Position on the continued need of
individuals from Kosovo” might encourage the
governments from host countries to prepare refugee returns (see http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home/opendoc.pdf?tbl=SUBSITES&id=4492bdaa2).
Mr. Guterres admitted that the UNHCR is under high pressure by the governments
of host countries, in particular from
The UN High Commissioner further said that its is the position of the UNHCR
that there should be no forced returns of refugees to Kosovo, and that his
organisation attempts to convey the message to the governments of host
countries that they could easily integrate the refugees. He also said that the
UNHCR has other cases of concern, and that Roma are not even the worst case. He
particularly mentioned pressures by Western governments for refugees to return
to
Forum's Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Karin Waringo, said that the Forum is well
aware of the UNHCR's efforts, but that her organisation would like to see the UNHCR being more
outspoken in public. She asked the UN High Commissioner to publicly convey the
message that the situation in Kosovo will not, in a foreseeable future, improve
in such a way to allow for the return of refugees in larger groups as the only
way to guarantee a minimum level of safety to the returnees. She further asked
Mr. Guterres to explain to the Western audience that the countries of the
region do not have sufficient capacities to integrate the refugees.
Ms. Waringo concluded by saying that the
Forum wanted all these issues to be discussed in the context of the status
negotiations, but that unfortunately no Roma representative was admitted to
these talks. She submitted the Forum's position paper on Kosovo where the issue
of
refugee returns is specifically addressed and asked the High Commissioner's
support the Forum in its ambition to be associated to any further talks about
the future of Kosovo.
Mr. Guterres replied by saying that he considered it indeed a hypocrisy not
admitting people to the discussions while at the same time expecting them to
return to Kosovo.
ERTF
International
Organisations
Council of
Committee of
Ministers
Committee of Ministers recommends measures to
protect the rights of Travellers in
With regards to the situation of Travellers
in
“There
is a need to enhance the involvement of Travellers in the work of the
structures dealing with Traveller issues. The recent establishment of a
National Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee provides an opportunity to
address this concern.
Travellers
continue to be exposed to discrimination in different contexts, and negative
societal attitudes towards them and certain new minority groups persist. These
problems are at times fuelled by some media reports promoting negative
stereotypes.
The
principle of voluntary self-identification of persons belonging to minorities
has not always been fully taken into account by the authorities in such
contexts as data collection and in discussions on whether the Travellers
constitute an ethnic group.
..
The
implementation of Traveller accommodation plans has been inadequate in a number
of localities.
Improved
provision of halting sites merits particular attention, bearing in mind also
the consequences of criminalisation of trespassing.
The
Travellers’ average school attendance and achievement levels remain low
and in some cases negative societal attitudes towards Travellers are felt also
in schools. Such problems in the field of education contribute to the
significant unemployment amongst Travellers and need to be addressed through
the implementation of the Report and Recommendations for a Traveller education
strategy.”
In
addition to the measures proposed by the Council of Europe Advisory Committee
for the Implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities the Committee of Ministers recommends the following
measures in order to improve the implementation of the Framework Convention:
“-
ensure Traveller representatives’ effective participation in various
bodies dealing with Traveller issues, including through the new National
Traveller Monitoring and Advisory Committee, while facilitating Travellers’
involvement also in elected bodies;
-
pay increasing attention to the principle of self-identification in data
collection and other contexts;
-
monitor the impact of the recent changes to the complaint mechanisms for
non-discrimination cases so as to ensure that they do not harm the
accessibility or effectiveness of the remedies available and ensure that the
structures concerned are adequately resourced;
-
take decisive measures to ensure the implementation of Traveller accommodation
plans and the recommendations of the Report for a Traveller education strategy;
-
pursue ongoing efforts to accommodate growing diversity in Irish schools,
including in terms of demand for non-denomination or multi-denominational
schools;
-
take further steps aimed to facilitate self employment and other economic
activities of the
Travellers.“
In
relation with
“Persons belonging to certain
groups, such as the Roma or the Romani/Taters, continue to encounter
difficulties and discrimination in the labour market and in access to housing
and education. In particular, the problems experienced by Roma and Romani/Tater
children in the field of education remain a cause for concern and must be
treated as a matter of priority by the authorities.”
and
recommends, in addition to the measures proposed by the Council of Europe
Advisory Committee for the Implementation of the Framework Convention for the
Protection of National Minorities the Committee of Ministers, the following
measures in order to improve the implementation of the Framework Convention:
“Implement more resolute
measures to eliminate the difficulties and discrimination encountered by
the Roma and the Romani/Taters
in various fields, such as employment and housing and, in
particular, education; pay due
heed to the Roma request concerning the establishment of a Roma
community centre in
…
- Continue and reinforce
efforts to promote and support the learning of the Kven language and
examine the needs of persons
belonging to other minorities – notably the Roma and the
Romani/Taters – in this
field;”
The
Committee of Ministers Resolution on Ireland is available at: http://www.coe.int/t/e/human_rights/minorities/2._FRAMEWORK_CONVENTION_(MONITORING)/2._Monitoring_mechanism/6._Resolutions_of_the_Committee_of_Ministers/1._Country-specific_resolutions/2._Second_cycle/PDF_2nd_CM_Resolution_Ireland_eng.pdf
The Committee of Ministers
Resolution on
ERTF
Committee
of Ministers adopts recommendations on Minority Languages in Hungary and
Slovenia
Strasbourg – On the basis of the
second report of the committee of independent experts which monitors the
application of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages the
Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has just adopted new a new
recommendation on the application of
the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by Hungary
(Recommendation CM/RecChL(2007)4) and Slovenia (Recommendation
CM/RecChL(2007)5).
With regards to the Romani language which is
protected in both countries under the Charter, the Committee of Ministers
recommends the Hungarian
authorities to “take resolute measures in language planning for Romany
and Beás with a view to starting effective teaching of and in these
languages at all appropriate stages,” and calls on the
Slovenian authorities to “continue
efforts to implement the ‘Strategy for Education of Roma in the Republic
of Slovenia’ and harmonise the level of protection for all speakers of
the Romani language”.
The full text of the recommendation on
The full text of the recommendation on
ERTF
Parliamentary
Assembly
PACE calls for durable solution for the 500,000 displaced people in
South
“Twelve years after
the end of war in
The full text of
Recommendation 1802 is available at:
http://assembly.coe.int/Main.asp?link=/Documents/WorkingDocs/Doc07/EDOC11289.htm
Source: PACE Press releases
European Court
of Human Rights
Chamber Judgement Karagiannopoulos v.
The Court held unanimously that there had
been:
· a violation of Article 2 (right to
life) of the European Convention on Human Rights on account of the Greek
State’s failure to protect the applicant’s right to life;
· a violation of Article 2 of the
Convention on account of a breach by the Greek State of its duty to conduct an
effective investigation into the circumstances of the incident which had put
the applicant’s life at risk;
· no violation of Article 14
(prohibition of discrimination).
Under Article 41 (just satisfaction), the
Court awarded the applicant 100,000 euros (EUR) for pecuniary damage and EUR
20,000 for non-pecuniary damage. (The judgment is available only in French.)
1.
Principal facts
Ioannis Karagiannopoulos is a Greek national
of Roma origin, who lives in Serres (
The facts are in dispute between the
parties.
The Greek Government alleged that on
The applicant alleged that, on arrival at
the family home, the policemen fired into the air, caught him by the hair and
then handcuffed him. Instead of taking him to the police station, they took him
to a nightclub car-park and began beating him so that he would name other
places where drugs were hidden. The applicant told them that he did not know of
any such places. The policeman responsible for starting the beating then took
out his weapon and placed it against the applicant’s head, threatening to
kill him if he did not speak; he finally shot and wounded him in the head.
On the day of the incident the policeman
concerned was arrested and criminal proceedings were brought against him for
negligently causing injury; he was released the following day. On
In the context of the subsequent
investigation, a forensic medical examination carried out just after the
incident established that the injury had been caused by a shot fired at
point-blank range; the bullet had entered at the temple and exited from the
forehead. No attempt was made, however, to search for gunpowder traces on the
various protagonists’ hands. On
In the meantime the administrative
investigation conducted by the police following the incident concluded that the
policeman concerned had shown excessive professional zeal in the exercise of
his duties, and slight negligence in detaining the applicant and in respect of
the rules governing use of his weapon. In February 1999 the head of police
imposed the minimum fine on the policeman for slight negligence.
The applicant brought proceedings for
damages, which were dismissed by the administrative courts on the ground that
the policeman concerned had acted in legitimate self-defence.
Following the incident the applicant spent
about three months in hospital. He has since been hospitalised on two occasions
for bacterial meningitis which, according to a doctor, is a result of his
injury. He was declared unfit for work by the social security authorities, who
have classified him as 100 % permanently disabled.
Source: ECHR Press Release ECHR 436(2007)
The Court’s judgments are accessible
on its Internet site (http://www.echr.coe.int).
Commissioner for
Human Rights
Commissioner for Human Rights voices concern about the
status of Kosovo refugees in Bosnia
The Commissioner urges the
"Kosovo's future still holds a lot of uncertainties and the
security situation remains fragile," the Commissioner said. "I
strongly believe that for those refugees who cannot return, a lasting solution
should be found within
According to the Commissioner, this could mean either the granting of
asylum, a permanent residence permit or even citizenship, which some of the
refugees would be entitled to after years of living in
Thomas Hammarberg, who supports the similar view of the UN refugee
agency, says that there continues to be a need for the international protection
of the 3,000 strong Kosovar refugee community in
The Commissioner said he would closely follow the situation of these
refugees after the 30 June deadline.
Source: Office of the
Commissioner for Human Rights (Press Release)
European Union
European
Commission
EU urges 14 member states to fully implement Race
Equality Directive
The European Commission (EC) Wednesday urged
14 member states to fully implement the "Race Equality Directive" to
protect citizens from racial discrimination. In a statement, the EC, executive
body of the European Union, also demanded "correct" responses from
these nations within two months and action to close gaps in race equality rules
"If there is no satisfactory reply, the
Commission will refer the matter to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. It can also request that the
Court impose a fine on the country concerned," the statement said.
The 14 countries are Estonia, Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.
The Race Equality Directive was agreed upon
by EU members in 2000 with a deadline for implementation into national law by
2003. However, not all national legislation fully conforms to these
requirements, the EC said.
"The right to be treated equally is a
fundamental right, but every day across the EU people face discrimination in
jobs, schools, shops, housing and healthcare because of the color of their
skin," said Vladimir Spidla, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social
Affairs and Equal Opportunities.
He called on EU nations to make sure the
equality rules are properly implemented so that people in
Source: Xinhua
http://english.people.com.cn/200706/28/eng20070628_388237.html
European
Parliament
EPs urge adoption of a
legal framework to combat racism and xenophobia
The European
Parliament adopted a report on taking effective action racism and xenophobia in
all Member States. MEPs say that minimum harmonisation at European level is
needed to defend one of EU's most important common values. MEPs evaluate the
progress of negotiations conducted at Council on this framework decision and
expect to be formally re-consulted by Council in the coming months on the basis
of the political agreement reached by Ministers of Justice last 19 April.
The aim of the draft
decision as it stands now is to ensure that all Member States will impose
harmonised criminal sanctions -from one to three years of prison- to any public
incitement to violence and hatred against persons of a different race, colour,
religion, national or ethnic descendent, dissemination of writings with such
content, public approval, denial or gross trivialisation of genocide, crimes
against humanity and war crimes.
The draft legislation does
not forbid specific symbols per se --such as swastikas-- and does not mention
specific historic events, but it appeals to the definitions of war crimes or
genocide contained in the Statute of the International Criminal Court and the
Nuremberg Tribunal of 1945.
Parliament's report aims to
send a strong political message on the need to ratify this framework decision
as soon as possible and recommends Council to "recognise" in the
final text the fact that "some Member States have criminalised the denial
or flagrant trivialisation of genocide" like the holocaust.
Criminal sanctions should
be more severe in the case of public figures and representatives of the
authorities, as their status should constitute an aggravating circumstance,
MEPs stressed in the text. Other
recommendations by Parliament are focussed on fixing common definitions on
terms such as "racist and xenophobic offences" or "public order
offence".
The Chamber finally
requested EU governments to issue an evaluation report on this framework
decision at the latest 3 years after it enters into force.
The fact that this
legislation will be a framework decision implies that the general provisions
adopted by the EU will have to be transposed into different national laws
afterwards, allowing Member States the necessary degree of flexibility to
maintain their specific constitutional traditions regarding the right to
freedom of expression.
Combating racism and
xenophobia: progress in the negotiations on the framework decision
Text, as adopted by the EP
on 21 June, will shortly be available here
Source: European Parliament
(Press release)
Reports
NGOs
Ecumenical Humanitarian
Organization (EHO)
Returned
Roma face human rights abuse
The Ecumenical Humanitarian Organization (
The organisation notes that the returns were
sometimes accompanied by
violence or other forms of inhuman and degrading treatment and that Roma
returnees face additional discrimination on the basis of their ethnicity.
The report can be downloaded at:
http://ehons.org/download/klprr_en.pdf
(English)
http://ehons.org/download/klprr_sr.pdf (Serbian)
Open Society Institute
Segregation in schools is expensive and we
will all have to pay for it
Budapest, 13 June 2007 - As one of the Governments leading the 'Decade of Roma
Inclusion 2005-2015', Hungary has achieved a high profile for its efforts to
address the many problems facing its Roma population. The Government has
adopted a series of initiatives aimed at giving Roma children better access to
education as a step towards improving their inclusion and opportunities for the
future. According to a report released today, however, critical elements
included in these Governmental policies have been overlooked in practice so
far, hindering
the possibility of any true progress.
The monitoring report "Equal Access to Quality Education for Roma in
discrimination, isolation or exclusion from education.
Segregation is officially illegal in
schools located in segregated residential areas where there is no or little non
Roma population with which to integrate.
The Hungarian edition of the report was launched today in Tiszabura. Despite
being a member of the OOIH, the National Network of Educational Integration
designed to combat segregation, the school in this rural area still has an
overwhelmingly Roma student body.
Without addressing the larger context of geographic isolation, poverty and
deprivation in which children live, the report makes clear, educational
integration cannot succeed. According to Lilla Farkas, a co-author of the
report, "when addressing access to quality education for Roma and impoverished
m