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15 August 2000
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CERD
57th session
15 August 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination continued this afternoon its thematic discussion on the issue of discrimination against Roma people, stressing that this group had been subjected to all forms of racial discrimination and segregation in housing, education and employment.
The discussion was in line with the Committee's efforts in monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Over the course of its discussion of the issue, the Committee was addressed by the Chairperson of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, other Subcommission experts and by a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Michael E. Sherifis, Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said discrimination against Roma was far from being a new phenomenon, but the Committee was of the opinion that an important current trend among States parties was to recognize the existing problem, a problem which for decades was either ignored or denied, or even worse, was attributed to the Roma themselves. The Roma had for centuries been subjected to ill-treatment, rejection, exclusion and discrimination in various forms, he added.
The following Committee experts took part in the debate: Ion Diaconu, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Marc Bossuyt, Régis de Gouttes and Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 August, it will continue its special debate on the Roma issue.
Statement by Committee Chairman
MICHAEL E. SHERIFIS, Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said that in the framework of direct dialogue with States parties over the years, the Committee had addressed an endless number of concerns at the national level. It had become clear that some of its concerns were not country-specific and that the same patterns of discrimination were found in many States parties. Racial discrimination against Roma populations was a serious concern. The Committee hoped that the current thematic discussion would be an occasion to jointly seek solutions to this cross-border problem.
Discrimination against Roma was far from a new phenomenon, but the Committee was of the opinion that an important current trend among States parties was to recognize the existing problem, a problem which for decades was either ignored or denied, or even worse, was attributed to the Roma themselves, Mr. Sherifis said. The Roma had for centuries been subjected to ill-treatment, rejection, exclusion and discrimination in various forms.
Mr. Sherifis continued to say that the majority of Roma, whether nomadic or sedentary, today lived in Europe and discrimination against them was often seen as a European problem. But Roma residing in other parts of the world faced similar difficulties. More importantly, racial discrimination faced by Roma in many ways symbolized some of the most common contemporary forms of racial discrimination experienced by other ethnic and national minority groups in the world. A successful attempts to address the issue of discrimination against Roma might therefore benefit other groups.
Discussion
IULIA ANTOANELLA MOTOC, Chairperson of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, said that a coherent and comprehensive view on the Roma issue could be drawn from the wealth of information received from non-governmental organizations and other sources by the Subcommission and other treaty bodies. The Subcommission had been engaged in the study of various issues of minorities, including the Roma people. During its meeting yesterday, the Subcommission had been hearing statements by a number of non-governmental organizations reflecting the plight of the Roma people. A study on the Roma people had also been presented by one of the Subcommission experts.
Mrs. Motoc further said that discrimination against Roma had to do with State organs, including the police and local officials. Acts of racial discrimination in the mass media also had to be focused on. Whatever the source, the racial discrimination of the Roma people involved human rights issues. States should endeavour to protect the rights of the Roma people.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission expert, said that the Subcommission was protecting the rights of nationalities and particularly ethnic minorities. Ethnic minorities in many countries wished to preserve their traditions and identities and for that reason they were looking for favourable conditions in which they could do so. While the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination focused on non-discrimination, it also advocated for the promotion of the rights of minorities.
YEUNG KAM YEUNG SIK YUEN, Subcommission expert, said that he had presented to the Subcommission his working paper on Roma people in which he focused on racial discrimination and economic aspects. In the eastern European countries, the employment of the Roma was below average and many of them remained without work.
Mr. Sik Yuen said that he believed that the measures of remedy should be tougher and it should also be a priority with regard to Roma people. On the socio-economic aspect of his study, he said that he had suggested timely and useful solutions. Affirmative action was highly welcomed together with strong leadership on the part of Governments and politicians. Another aspect of the Roma issue was education; and in most cases, the Roma were subjected to an unfair situation. The choice of special schools for Roma children had been said to be based on a test to distinguish them from other children of the society.
Mr. Sik Yuen said that the Roma should attempt to adopt and accept the cultures of the other groups in the society without rejection; only a two-way traffic could lead to the desired destination; and "It was impossible to clap only with one hand", he said.
KRISTEN YOUNG of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that many Roma in south-eastern Europe today were battling the double burden of traditional discrimination and marginalization, along with the particular difficulties which came with being displaced and living in war-torn societies. The fate of the Roma communities of Kosovo was perhaps the most dramatic reflection of that grim picture. Kosovo Roma continued to be the subject of ethnically motivated attacks, violence and intimidation across Kosovo. Up to 40,000 Roma had fled to neighbouring territories since the establishment of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in June 1999. As a result, the UNHCR had advocated for the recognition of Kosovo Roma as refugees or persons in need of international protection in those European countries where they had been seeking asylum.
Ms. Young said that although very few central European Roma were granted refugee status in other European States, many refugee claims showed a pattern of discrimination and abuse which, combined with a lack of effective remedy, might justify a fear of persecution in the sense of article 1 of the 1951 Convention on Refugees. In addition, it was a worrying reality that the reception of Roma asylum seekers and refugees in the rest of Europe was often tainted by serious prejudice.
Also taking the floor, some Committee experts expressed their views on the issue of racial discrimination to which the Roma people were subjected to. An expert said that Roma people were recognized in some countries as national minorities or ethnic groups while in other countries, they were not recognized as such. In the countries where other groups were recognized, the Roma people had no status at all, which was discriminatory. In addition, the Roma were subjected to different treatment from other citizens.
The expert added that laws had been enacted and policies adopted to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination in many countries, however, legislation was fragmented and sometimes incomplete. In many cases, legislation was not applied or was only applied to a certain degree concerning the Roma people. It was also reported that in several States, members of the Roma community were subjected to segregation, particularly in the areas of housing and education.
Another expert said that some documents dealing with the Roma had indicated how racial discrimination had increased in Eastern Europe with the economic transition. The future dialogue of the Committee with States should be on finding ways to prevent prejudice against Roma people.
An expert said that while State authorities declined direct responsibility for discriminatory measures, the socio-economic situation of the Roma people remained of concern, and they were found in unequal situation vis-à-vis the majority groups of the countries where they lived, particularly in housing, education and employment. Even Roma communities living in economically developed countries were still disadvantaged and faced considerable difficulties.
In a census taken in one country, some people of Roma origin hid their identity because of societal prejudice, an expert observed. Although some of them were entirely assimilated in the society, they still refused to trace back their origin.
* *** *
57th session
15 August 2000
Afternoon
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination continued this afternoon its thematic discussion on the issue of discrimination against Roma people, stressing that this group had been subjected to all forms of racial discrimination and segregation in housing, education and employment.
The discussion was in line with the Committee's efforts in monitoring the implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
Over the course of its discussion of the issue, the Committee was addressed by the Chairperson of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, other Subcommission experts and by a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Michael E. Sherifis, Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said discrimination against Roma was far from being a new phenomenon, but the Committee was of the opinion that an important current trend among States parties was to recognize the existing problem, a problem which for decades was either ignored or denied, or even worse, was attributed to the Roma themselves. The Roma had for centuries been subjected to ill-treatment, rejection, exclusion and discrimination in various forms, he added.
The following Committee experts took part in the debate: Ion Diaconu, Luis Valencia Rodriguez, Marc Bossuyt, Régis de Gouttes and Mahmoud Aboul-Nasr.
When the Committee reconvenes at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 August, it will continue its special debate on the Roma issue.
Statement by Committee Chairman
MICHAEL E. SHERIFIS, Chairman of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, said that in the framework of direct dialogue with States parties over the years, the Committee had addressed an endless number of concerns at the national level. It had become clear that some of its concerns were not country-specific and that the same patterns of discrimination were found in many States parties. Racial discrimination against Roma populations was a serious concern. The Committee hoped that the current thematic discussion would be an occasion to jointly seek solutions to this cross-border problem.
Discrimination against Roma was far from a new phenomenon, but the Committee was of the opinion that an important current trend among States parties was to recognize the existing problem, a problem which for decades was either ignored or denied, or even worse, was attributed to the Roma themselves, Mr. Sherifis said. The Roma had for centuries been subjected to ill-treatment, rejection, exclusion and discrimination in various forms.
Mr. Sherifis continued to say that the majority of Roma, whether nomadic or sedentary, today lived in Europe and discrimination against them was often seen as a European problem. But Roma residing in other parts of the world faced similar difficulties. More importantly, racial discrimination faced by Roma in many ways symbolized some of the most common contemporary forms of racial discrimination experienced by other ethnic and national minority groups in the world. A successful attempts to address the issue of discrimination against Roma might therefore benefit other groups.
Discussion
IULIA ANTOANELLA MOTOC, Chairperson of the Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, said that a coherent and comprehensive view on the Roma issue could be drawn from the wealth of information received from non-governmental organizations and other sources by the Subcommission and other treaty bodies. The Subcommission had been engaged in the study of various issues of minorities, including the Roma people. During its meeting yesterday, the Subcommission had been hearing statements by a number of non-governmental organizations reflecting the plight of the Roma people. A study on the Roma people had also been presented by one of the Subcommission experts.
Mrs. Motoc further said that discrimination against Roma had to do with State organs, including the police and local officials. Acts of racial discrimination in the mass media also had to be focused on. Whatever the source, the racial discrimination of the Roma people involved human rights issues. States should endeavour to protect the rights of the Roma people.
ASBJORN EIDE, Subcommission expert, said that the Subcommission was protecting the rights of nationalities and particularly ethnic minorities. Ethnic minorities in many countries wished to preserve their traditions and identities and for that reason they were looking for favourable conditions in which they could do so. While the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination focused on non-discrimination, it also advocated for the promotion of the rights of minorities.
YEUNG KAM YEUNG SIK YUEN, Subcommission expert, said that he had presented to the Subcommission his working paper on Roma people in which he focused on racial discrimination and economic aspects. In the eastern European countries, the employment of the Roma was below average and many of them remained without work.
Mr. Sik Yuen said that he believed that the measures of remedy should be tougher and it should also be a priority with regard to Roma people. On the socio-economic aspect of his study, he said that he had suggested timely and useful solutions. Affirmative action was highly welcomed together with strong leadership on the part of Governments and politicians. Another aspect of the Roma issue was education; and in most cases, the Roma were subjected to an unfair situation. The choice of special schools for Roma children had been said to be based on a test to distinguish them from other children of the society.
Mr. Sik Yuen said that the Roma should attempt to adopt and accept the cultures of the other groups in the society without rejection; only a two-way traffic could lead to the desired destination; and "It was impossible to clap only with one hand", he said.
KRISTEN YOUNG of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that many Roma in south-eastern Europe today were battling the double burden of traditional discrimination and marginalization, along with the particular difficulties which came with being displaced and living in war-torn societies. The fate of the Roma communities of Kosovo was perhaps the most dramatic reflection of that grim picture. Kosovo Roma continued to be the subject of ethnically motivated attacks, violence and intimidation across Kosovo. Up to 40,000 Roma had fled to neighbouring territories since the establishment of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo in June 1999. As a result, the UNHCR had advocated for the recognition of Kosovo Roma as refugees or persons in need of international protection in those European countries where they had been seeking asylum.
Ms. Young said that although very few central European Roma were granted refugee status in other European States, many refugee claims showed a pattern of discrimination and abuse which, combined with a lack of effective remedy, might justify a fear of persecution in the sense of article 1 of the 1951 Convention on Refugees. In addition, it was a worrying reality that the reception of Roma asylum seekers and refugees in the rest of Europe was often tainted by serious prejudice.
Also taking the floor, some Committee experts expressed their views on the issue of racial discrimination to which the Roma people were subjected to. An expert said that Roma people were recognized in some countries as national minorities or ethnic groups while in other countries, they were not recognized as such. In the countries where other groups were recognized, the Roma people had no status at all, which was discriminatory. In addition, the Roma were subjected to different treatment from other citizens.
The expert added that laws had been enacted and policies adopted to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination in many countries, however, legislation was fragmented and sometimes incomplete. In many cases, legislation was not applied or was only applied to a certain degree concerning the Roma people. It was also reported that in several States, members of the Roma community were subjected to segregation, particularly in the areas of housing and education.
Another expert said that some documents dealing with the Roma had indicated how racial discrimination had increased in Eastern Europe with the economic transition. The future dialogue of the Committee with States should be on finding ways to prevent prejudice against Roma people.
An expert said that while State authorities declined direct responsibility for discriminatory measures, the socio-economic situation of the Roma people remained of concern, and they were found in unequal situation vis-à-vis the majority groups of the countries where they lived, particularly in housing, education and employment. Even Roma communities living in economically developed countries were still disadvantaged and faced considerable difficulties.
In a census taken in one country, some people of Roma origin hid their identity because of societal prejudice, an expert observed. Although some of them were entirely assimilated in the society, they still refused to trace back their origin.
* *** *