WUNRN
"There
is a gender dimension to housing rights as well and the multiple discrimination
and violence experienced by Romani women must be taken into account when
positive measures are carried out."
Strasbourg, 24 October 2007
Original Version
Joint Statement by Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg
Housing rights of Roma are abused in several parts of Europe. Our offices
have received an increasing number of complaints about this problem in a great
number of European states including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Czech Republic, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Russian
Federation, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey and United
Kingdom.
Most of these communications have reported of evictions of Roma communities and
families which have been carried out in violation of human rights standards
especially as regards the right to adequate housing and privacy, procedural
guarantees and remedies.
In recent years, there has been an undeniable growth of anti-Romani sentiment
or “anti-Ziganism” in Europe. It is regrettable that the actions of many public
authorities – particularly at the local level – have been to acquiesce in this
intensification of anti-Romani hatred. As a result, the rate and number of
forced evictions of Roma have grown dramatically, and segregation and
ghettoization in the housing field appears to have intensified and become
entrenched in recent years.
Forced evictions often involve acts of violence or threats of violence against
Roma. There is also a tendency that market considerations and contempt toward
persons regarded as “Gypsies” coalesce in the actions of municipalities
carrying out urban renewal programs, in which the eviction of Roma from city
center – and public view – is an active component of public policy. These are
issues of deep concern for social justice in Europe.
The major international human rights instruments codifying the right to
adequate housing include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights and the Revised European Social Charter. Many other UN
treaties, the European Convention on Human Rights and EU legislation in the
field of non-discrimination are also relevant.
The right to adequate housing is crucial for the enjoyment of other rights.
Therefore, violations in this area have far reaching impacts on the abilities
of Roma and Traveller individuals and communities to effectively enjoy the
right to privacy, freedom from degrading treatment, education, employment,
food, health, social security, freedom of movement, as well as electoral rights
such as voting and the right to stand in elections. Slum housing of Roma has in
recent years resulted in refused ambulance services in cases of medical
emergency, and denied or failed postal services, causing missed scholarship
opportunities and other obstructed goods.
The substandard education of Roma noted in many European countries is often a
result of placement far from decent schools or repeated eviction. There is a
gender dimension to housing rights as well and the multiple discrimination and
violence experienced by Romani women must be taken into account when positive
measures are carried out.
We are of the view that concerted effort is required at national, local and
pan-European level to end the housing crisis of the Roma. There is an evident
need to improve laws, policy and practice:
• Domestic legal provisions should be strengthened – instead of eroded - to
ensure security of tenure for all vulnerable groups and individuals;
• Legal protection against forced eviction should be brought into conformity
with international law; national authorities are encouraged to apply the Basic
Principles and Guidelines on Development-Based Evictions and Displacement
prepared by the Special Rapporteur under the auspices of the UN Human Rights
Council ;
• Where persons and/or communities have been expelled from their housing or
land, either as a result of ethnic or other conflict or as a result of
arbitrary acts by the public administration or persons acting on their behalf,
due remedy and restitution should be swiftly forthcoming; persons or entities
culpable for violations of law should be brought to justice;
• The use of criminal law measures to thwart nomadism should be ended, and
adequate site provision should be provided for Travellers in countries, regions
or areas where there are such communities;
• Roma settlements lacking recognized tenure should be formalized and brought
up to standards adequate to ensure the dignity of the inhabitants. There should
be full and meaningful consultation with affected Roma communities;
• Robust national legal frameworks should be enacted to ensure compliance by
local authorities with the international law in the field of housing rights;
• European legal standards on anti-discrimination law should be rigorously
enforced to ensure an end to arbitrary treatment based on racial animus against
Roma.
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