Resolution 1740 (2010)1
The situation of Roma in Europe and relevant
activities of the Council of Europe
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 appropriate
by 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
(Kosovo2).
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.
1. 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).
2. This reference should be understood in
full compliance with United Nations Security Council
Resolution 1244 (1999).
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