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.
• ECRIs 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
Background
Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and
Eastern Europe Ostrawa December 2012

• 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

Ostrawa December 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
General provisions
Racism and Anti Roma resentments in Central and
Eastern Europe Ostrawa November 2012

• 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

• What does 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
• Ottoman Empire
• 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 (todays 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 Lodzs 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 to educational system in Europe. Some
  examples
• 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.
• Measures should be taken 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

• RP.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 should be no obstacles to Roma exercising
  their traditional trades.
• Roma should be consulted to find alternatives to
  vanished trades in which they have traditionally
  engaged, for instance through loans and/or tax
  benefits.

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
  appropiatte behavoir, because women are who
  should do that, even in protitution?,,(Corriere
  della 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 dont 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_at_esplai.org