Summit of Mayors on Roma : “Building mutual trust at the grassroots” – 22 September 2011, France

Workshop II: Fighting prejudice, managing diversity

Contribution by Stefano Valenti, ECRI’s Secretariat

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The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) is a human rights body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts, which monitors problems of racism and discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin, citizenship, colour, religion and language, as well as xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance, prepares reports and issues recommendations to member States.

ECRI’s General Policy Recommendations are intended to serve as guidelines for policy makers.  They cover important areas of current concern in the fight against racism and intolerance, frequently identified in the course of ECRI’s country monitoring work.

The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) this last Monday 19th of September issued guidelines to the Council of Europe’s 47 member countries to fight a rising tide of anti-Gypsyism and discrimination against Roma.  The guidelines – contained in the its thirteenth General Policy Recommendation (GPR) – are very pertinent to the main questions to be discussed in today’s summit and in particular in this  workshop.

They call not only central authorities but in particular local authorities for action to provide access to decent housing that is not segregated, to ensure that Roma are not evicted without notice or opportunity for rehousing, and for steps to be taken to legalise long-standing Roma sites built in breach of town planning regulations.

The GPR calls for Roma to have secure access to quality health care and for segregation in hospitals to end, and says discrimination in the health sector must be prosecuted and punished. There should be no obstacles to Roma exercising traditional trades, and Roma should be consulted to find alternatives, for instance through micro-loans or tax breaks. All Roma children should be registered at birth and given identity documents.

Governments should encourage Roma victims of violence and crime – including misconduct by the police - to lodge complaints, and the media should avoid inflammatory reporting.

The guidelines also urge equal provision in public services such as water, sanitation, electricity, refuse removal and transport for Roma communities concentrated in certain neighbourhoods. It asks governments to ensure freedom of movement legislation does not discriminate against the Roma and that their culture is protected and promoted amongst the majority population.

As for the specific questions for the debate of this workshop, I will try to highlight some pertinent parts of the guidelines as follows:

What can the cities do to prevent and fight against the increasing overt manifestations of racism and hatred against Roma?

HOUSING

Cities should promote coexistence and mutual understanding between persons from different cultures in neighbourhoods in which Roma and non-Roma live and in particular;

Combat prejudice and stereotypes concerning Roma and Travellers in respect of access to housing for example by ;

encouraging consultation between all local players and Travellers about the positioning of encampment areas destined for them.

How can the cities counter prejudice and stereotyping, and support mutual knowledge and understanding, and in particular promote an appreciation of Roma culture as a positive and integral component of the wider cultural diversity of the city?

GENERAL MEASURES

Cities are one of the main stakeholders in the promotion and protection of Roma culture, fostering the rest of the population’s better knowledge of Roma communities as well as the advancement of intercultural dialogue;

Cities should ensure that the name used officially for the various Roma communities present in the city is the name by which the community in question wishes to be known;

the promotion of sport at local level is pivotal in so far as it promotes respect for diversity and facilitates the integration of Roma.

EMPLOYMENT

Cities within their sphere of competence should remove any obstacles, including bureaucratic, to the exercise of Roma traditional trades with the view not only to protect Roma traditional style of living but also  promote it amongst the majority population ;

When the exercise of Roma traditional trades is not possible, local authorities should engage with Roma to find alternatives to the vanished trades in which they have traditionally engaged, for instance by offering them advantageous loans to set up their own businesses and/or propose local tax benefits/exemption;

HOUSING

Cities should ensure that spatial planning regulations do not systematically impede the traditional life of Travellers;

What actions can the cities take to promote and support the active participation of Roma in the different spheres and levels of public life of the city, including in decision-making and the formal democratic process?

GENERAL MEASURES

ECRI in its GPR reiterates that adequate political representation enabling Roma to have their voices heard is of the upmost importance; in order to provide precondition to this participation, Cities should ensure that:

all Roma children are registered at birth and that all Roma are issued identity documents;

Cities should also take effective measures to enter Roma in the register of inhabitants when they wish to settle permanently or temporarily;

ECRI has arranged for a stand outside this room where a number of ECRI documents are available including the full text of GPR 13 in English, French and Romani language.