ANTI-GYPYISM in EUROPE

1. ANTI-GYPYISM in EUROPE Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostraw November 2012 Pedro Aguilera ECRI Deputy Member in Honour of Spain

2. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) The independent human rights monitoring body of the Council of Europe in the field of combating racism and intolerance

3. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • ECRI is an independent human rights monitoring body specialised in combating racism, xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance. • ECRI is composed of independent and impartial members.There is one member for each member State of the Council of Europe. • ECRI’s action covers all measures necessary to combat discrimination and prejudice faced by persons or groups of persons on grounds of colour, language, religion, nationality or national or ethnic origin.

4. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 Background • The CoE estimates that there are over 11 million Roma in Europe, over 5 million of whom live outside the EU (notably in Turkey, Russia and Serbia). • Recent developments in several CoE member states have highlighted the fact that the Roma continue to be victims of discrimination and intolerance. • Strasbourg declaration, October 2010 = pledge to cooperate at all levels on Roma issues (including EU, national governments, NGOs) including European training programs for Roma mediators and lawyers.

5. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe OstrawaDecember 2012 • General Policy Recommendations (GPR) are detailed guidelines to help shape national strategies and policies on particularly important issues. • Already in 1998 ECRI issued GPR N° 3 on Combating racism and intolerance against Roma/Gypsies. • However in its long-term country-by-country monitoring activities, ECRI has documented that Roma continue to face serious problems throughout Europe. This is why ECRI decided to dedicate a specific GPR on how best to combat anti-Gypsyism and discrimination against Roma.

6. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa November 2012 General provisions • Urges countries to ratify Protocol 12 to the ECHR (anti-discrimination), as well as the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. • Countries should develop and implement comprehensive national plans on Roma-related issues, working together with Roma representatives. • They should also develop mutual trust between Roma and public authorities, in particular through training mediators.

7. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • Whatdoes anti-Gypsyism mean? • Recalling that anti-Gypsyism is an specific form of racism, an ideology founded on racial superiority, a form of dehumanization and institutional racism nurtured by historical discrimination, which is expressed, among others, by violence, hate speech, exploitation, stigmatization and the most blatant kind of discrimination. • Stressing that anti-Gypsyism is an especially persistent, violent, recurrent and commonplace form of racism, and convinced of the need to combat this phenomenon at every level and by every means

8. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 Institutional racism nurtured by historical discrimination.

9. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • Arrival in Europe • OttomanEmpire The Ottoman Empire dominated the Balkans for over five centuries and made a distinct impression on the culture and history of the region. Thus the role of the Ottoman Empire is a key factor in the process of the formation and development of the Roma people • Wallachia and Moldovia Unlike in any other European region, the Roma in former Wallachia and Moldavia (today‘s Romania), have lived in slavery for five hundred years. In the mid-19th century, when slavery was officially abolished, a large number of Roma left the country and migrated to Central and Western Europe as well as to America.

10. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • Wallachia and Moldovia “Gypsies shall be born only slaves; anyone born of a slave mother shall also become a slave …” stated the code of Wallachia at the beginning of the 19th century. . • Some figures: • In 1857 they were 33.267 Roma Families in Wallachia: • 6,241 families had been slaves of the STATE • 12.081 families had been slaves of the CHURCH • 14945 families had belonged to the Noblility

11. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • Porrajmos (Holocaust) The persecution of “Gypsies” which had lasted for centuries culminated in genocide under the NS regime. Defined as a “problem”, “asocials” and “racially inferior”, the Roma were arrested and murdered in the German Reich and in the German-occupied territories. • Ideological basis • Criminal Police and ethonogenetic registration of Roma • The first deportation; labour camps and massive executions and the Lodz’s ghetto

12. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • Ideological basis

13. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • Criminal Police and ethonogenetic registration of Roma

14. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa November 2012

15. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 Third Migration

16. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa November 2012 ANTI-GYPSYISM BEHAIVOUR,TODAY

17. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • ACCES TO HUMAN AND CIVIL RIGHTS • EDUCATION • HOUSING • EMPLOYMENT • FREE OF MOVEMENT • HEALTH • HATE SPEECH

18. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 EDUCATION: Access toeducationalsystem in Europe:. Someexamples • In the Czech Republic and Slovakia was allowed a system of segregation of the Roma community, where Roma children were systematically enrolled in "special schools“ • These screens were "supported" anthropological reasoning and even had the approval of the educational community and the education ministry, as they have repeatedly denounced NGOs. • In 2007, the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights, DH and Others Vs Czech Republic Czech Republic sentence for violation of art. 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 (right to education)

19. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 R.P.G. Number 13 and EDUCATION: • Each Roma child should have genuine access to nursery school. • Urgent steps should be taken to end segregation at school and the placement of Roma children in special schools. • Measuresshouldbetaken to prevent and combat stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination experienced by Roma in schools. • Teaching on the Roma genocide should be included in school curricula.

20. HOUSING 1.- Segregation 2.- Security of tenure “We have been living here for over 20 years ; we do not have ownership documents.” 3.- Availability of public utilities 4.- Affordability 5.- Habitability 6.- Accessibility

21. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 R:P.G. Number 13 and HOUSING • Governments should combat forced or de-facto segregation. • Roma should not be evicted without notice and without opportunity for re-housing in decent accommodation. • Steps should be taken to legalise illegal Roma settlements built in breach of town planning regulations which have been tolerated for a long period of time by the authorities. • Governments should ensure that appropriate encampment whether for permanent occupation or transit areas are available in sufficient numbers on suitable and duly services sites. • Governments should make sure that Roma communities are not disadvantaged in respect of public services such as water supply, electricity, refuse removal, transport and access to the road system.

22. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 R.P.G. Number 13 and EMPLOYMENT • Positive measures should be taken for Roma in respect of employment, as concerns particularly recruitment and vocational training. • Steps should be taken to stamp out discrimination against Roma as regards, inter alia, recruitment. • There shouldbe no obstacles to Roma exercisingtheirtraditionaltrades. • Roma shouldbeconsulted to find alternatives to vanishedtrades in whichthey have traditionallyengaged, for instance throughloans and/or taxbenefits.

23. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 Health • The case of sterilization of Roma women in the Czech Republic and SlovakiaThe European Court of Human Rights declared admissible a case brought by VC against Slovakia by Slovak Roma women were sterilized without their full consent and without receiving enough information. • The Slovak Supreme Court found no grounds "fair and effective" by which this woman was discriminated against because of ethnic membership, sex or race.More than 100 Roma women have been forcibly sterilized in Slovakia, it argues NRC in its report to the European Commission in 2003. (Inna Zoon)

24. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa November 2012 R.P.G. and Health • Forced sterilization of Roma women should be expressly prohibited. • take measures to secure equal access to all quality health care to Roma; • recruit health mediators, in particular from the Roma community to provide liaison between health personnel and managers and Roma; • take positive measures to ensure that no financial or administrative • hindrance impedes the access of Roma to health care and medical treatment; • prevent and combat any segregation in hospitals and in particular in maternity wards

25. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 that the legislation, and its implementation, on the freedom of movement of persons are not discriminatory towards Roma • Free of Movement

26. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • HATE SPEECH • According to far-right party Jobbik, 'Gypsies are blamed for everything.' And that is why Hajdúhadház has a militia called 'A better future” • In Italy, Trevisso Majors knows how to “eliminate all the Roma Children” • Giancarlo Fini “ How can you integrate someone who considers roobery, not going to work, as an appropiattebehavoir, because women are who should do that, even in protitution?,,(Corrieredella Sera ) 04/11/2011

27. HATE SPEECH CONSEQUENCES

28. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 • HATE SPEECH “in the eyes of the population…….Roma stands for: R of thieves; O for trouble junkies; M for knife pullers A for aggressive people”. You don’t want to see this reality. I repeat: no integration stewards but police officers are what you need, to bring Roma back to where they belong: Romania and Bulgaria, not here. Mr. Filip DeWinter, deputy for the far-right party Vlaams Belang,during the plenary session of the Flemish Parliament on 16 November 2011.

29. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa November 2012 • The participation of Roma in the media sector in general should be promoted by taking steps for journalists and presenters from among Roma communities to be recruited and trained. • The media should be encouraged to refrain from broadcasting any information likely to fuel discrimination and intolerance toward Roma. • The legislation and its implementation on the freedom of movement of persons within the EU should not be discriminatory towards Roma.. • Governments should set up a comprehensive system for recording acts of violence against Roma. • Governments should also encourage systems to monitor anti-Gypsyism online and ensure effective prosecution. • All Roma children should be registered at birth and all Roma should be issued with identity documents.

30. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012

31. Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012 THANK YOU VERY MUCH NAIS TUQUE E-mail: paguilera@esplai.org