Description
The project is needed to address the prospect of defending human rights for the Roma ethnic minority, a highly discriminated community in Romania, in an environment of civil society in which the litigation and advocacy actions do not come to the forefront. The project will develop a community instrument for preventing and combating all forms of discrimination by developing the network of local human rights monitors, consisting of 20 members. Another objective is to combat and prevent discrimination in education, housing and achieving human dignity, law enforcement officials’ abuse and discriminatory and racist discourse or hate speech, through advocacy and litigation actions. Through the project will increase the access to justice for members of the Roma community by providing legal assistance and representation to the victims of discrimination on ethnic criteria, abuse or violation of rights, in a minimum number of 8 cases. It will be carried out an analysis of discrimination against Roma, the efficiency of the anti-discrimination framework and access to justice for Roma, by conducting a research.
Summary of project results
The project was needed to defend human rights for the Roma minority, a highly discriminated community in Romania. The project has contributed to the promotion of democratic values, by protecting human rights and combating discrimination for the Roma population. Court cases were started before national courts and three decisions from the European Court of Human Rights have been issued, on cases litigated by Romani CRISS in the area of police abuse against Roma. All three cases have been won before the European Court which has established the violation of the art. 2 (right to life), art. 3 (prohibition of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment) and art. 14 (prohibition of discrimination). The implemented activities that aimed to combat racism and discrimination were: - litigation, ensuring legal assistance for Roma people (113 persons); - research (best practice Guide for fighting racist speech against Roma, abuse of law enforcement officials in Roma communities in Romania, representation of Roma in the local newspapers, access to housing. effective remedies in cases of discrimination); - advocacy (drafting and dissemination of the Guide for local elected officials); - initiating negotiations to sign a protocol and developing inter-sectoral partnership between Romani CRISS, Ministry of Internal Affairs/Romanian General Police Inspectorate and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), regarding the relation between Roma people and police; - raising awareness in Roma communities and through the website developed within the project
www.drepturile-omului.info. The main instrument of the project was the establishment and consolidation of the Human rights local monitors’ network, as a community instrument to prevent and combat all forms of discrimination. The network is the main instrument through which the projects reached Roma communities. Namely, information about the situation of human rights has been collected, and further disseminated to Roma people on the existence of rights and methods to protect them. The network is the method that the project used in order to promote active citizenship. Through the actions of the monitors, the project also increased the watchdog capacity of monitors at local level.
Summary of bilateral results
The two main activities included a training course for the human rights local monitors, with the participation of a representative from the Norwegian partner, and the exchange visit of a young Roma to Norway for one month. Both activities were funded through the project. The training sessions were attended also by a senior member from the Antirasistik Center. The participants have engaged in a dynamic discussion with the Norwegian representative; they exchanged opinions on the violations of human rights that occur in Romania and in Norway and shared possible solutions. Through the exchange visit, a young Roma was given the possibility to get to know in detail the existing problems in Norway and, in the same time, to share the realities and solutions that exist in Romania. Following this exchange of information and experience, both parties gained a better understanding of the phenomena which impact the day-to-day activity of both organisations.