Publication of 9 ECRI country reports, January - March 1999
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Subject: Publication of 9 ECRI country reports, January - March 1999
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Isobelle Jaques <[email protected]>
Publication of 9 ECRI country reports, January - March 1999
PUBLICATION OF NINE ECRI COUNTRY REPORTS, JANUARY - MARCH 1999
Since the beginning of 1999, ECRI has published a further nine country
reports on Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Romania, Russian
Federation, Spain, UK and Ukraine. The full texts of these reports
can be accessed on ECRI's website in English and French
(www.ecri.coe.fr), and they are available in hard copy in the national
language of the country concerned. The following issues were addressed
in the reports:
Austria has in recent years seen a high level of immigration over a
short space of time, as well as an influx of refugees from the former
Yugoslavia. Despite efforts made on a national level to combat racism,
xenophobia, antisemitism and intolerance, Austria still faces problems
in these areas, including incidents of extreme violence against
non-citizens, certain minority groups and even public figures who are
accused of being over-friendly to such groups, as well as episodes of
police brutality and other maltreatment often directed towards persons
from minority groups. In ECRI's view, Austria needs to set up a
specialised body dealing exclusively with the problems of racism and
intolerance, undertake more extensive awareness-raising concerning
xenophobia and consider a more flexible approach to the legal
situation of migrant workers.
Denmark, which has an advanced Scandinavian-style welfare state, has
recently seen a growth in hostility towards refugees and immigrants.
It needs to: implement a structured action plan to combat racism;
develop a specialised anti-racism body with powers to investigate
individual complaints; counter the spread of racist, particularly
Nazi, propaganda through existing laws; and, tackle discrimination in
the housing and employment sectors.
Estonia, a young democracy undergoing transition, is not currently
subject to severe or violent manifestations of racism, xenophobia or
intolerance, although there are problems faced by the Russian-speaking
populations, particularly concerning their access to citizenship. Some
antisemitic incidents have also occurred in recent years. Vigilance is
needed to ensure racism and discrimination do not develop and
awareness-raising on human rights is needed among the general public
and target groups.
In Latvia, which re-established its independence in 1991, the
sometimes tense relations between Latvians and non-Latvian ethnic
groups - about one-third of the total population mainly uses the
Russian language - have been widely affected by the issues of
naturalisation and rights of non-citizens. Instances of aggressive
nationalism, racism and antisemitism have been observed, although
these do not appear to be characteristic of the society in general and
seem to relate instead to ignorance, psychological factors created by
past experiences as well as to the difficult economic conditions faced
by a great part of the population. ECRI considers there is a need to
monitor closely the activities of the Department of Citizenship and
Migration Affairs. Arbitrary and unjustified restrictions for
non-citizens, for example in employment and social rights, should be
removed.
Romania, with numerous different minority groups, has to deal with
continuing large areas of poverty which may contribute to feelings of
xenophobia and intolerance. Particularly as regards discrimination
and violence against members of the Roma/Gypsy community, problems of
intolerance and manifestations of racism persist. Negative attitudes
displayed by the media, which also run the risk of exacerbating
antisemitic sentiments and racist attitudes in the population, should
be countered. ECRI insists upon the importance of police training,
since violent acts are publicly committed against members of various
minority groups, particularly Roma/Gypsies, which could have the
effect of implying official approval of racist acts and attitudes.
Romania should also develop criminal, civil and administrative law
Russia is a multi-ethnic, multicultural country, struggling to cope
with sudden and radical changes in its political, social and economic
fabric. Inter-ethnic tensions are rife, as well as direct and indirect
discrimination, and even violence against certain minority ethnic
groups. The current economic crisis and inadequate and inconsistent
laws and law enforcement have exacerbated the situation. The country
needs to develop: an effective body of anti-discrimination law;
effective specialised anti-racism bodies; and, an effective judicial
and law enforcement system. It must tackle alleged malpractice and
brutality by the police against visible minorities (including
Caucasians, Central Asians and third-world refugees) and do more to
promote religious tolerance and equality. The discriminatory effects
of the propiska-type system, antisemitism and overt discrimination
against particular ethnic groups - in particular, Meskhetian Turks -
should be combated.
Spain, which has recently changed from a country of emigration to one
of immigration, is experiencing day-to-day manifestations of racism
and intolerance, particularly towards the Roma/Gypsy community, black
people, North Africans and Arabs. Antisemitic attitudes also exist and
there has been a resurgence of aggressive and violent nationalism and
of some violent racist groups. Overall, however, violent racism is not
widespread. Non-citizen workers are perceived as representing unfair
competition in the job's market, at a time when Spain has the highest
unemployment rate in Western Europe (more than 20%). Spain needs to:
swiftly and fully implement the new anti-racist provisions of its
penal code; provide better statistics on racist attacks and vulnerable
groups; deal with the marginalisation of the Roma/Gypsy people and of
immigrants, especially those from Africa; and, combat the activities
of right-wing extremist networks.
The United Kingdom, despite having one of Europe's most
highly-advanced institutional frameworks for combating racism and
discrimination, does not have significantly lower recorded incidents
of racial discrimination than other European states. While there is a
decline in overt discrimination, indirect discrimination and
intolerance persists, including in Northern Ireland. Police
malpractice and a disproportionate number of deaths in custody of
members of minority groups have been reported. The UK needs to:
fine-tune its legislation ; collect better data according to racial
groups; raise awareness of racism and measures to combat it; ensure
the 1996 Asylum and Immigration Act does not increase discrimination
or hostility towards asylum-seekers or leave them without social
support; deal with police malpractice; and establish racial incidents
units in all police divisions.
Ukraine is confronted with a serious economic crisis. It also faces
the challenge of providing for the revival and development of the
Ukrainian ethnic identity without infringement of the rights of
minority groups. The ultra-nationalist press frequently publishes
anti-Jewish and anti-Russian diatribes and the authorities often fail
to prosecute those responsible. Although many laws are new or being
amended, ECRI considers Ukraine should develop a comprehensive body of
legislation to combat racism and intolerance. Monitoring the
resettlement of Tartar returnees in the Crimea region also requires
special attention.
The above reports are available from ECRI's Secretariat in hard copy
in two volumes:
ECRI's country-by-country reports Volume IV (containing Denmark,
Estonia, Russian Federation, Spain and the UK), CRI (99) 6, pp 98
ECRI's country by country reports Volume V (containing Austria,
Latvia, Romania and Ukraine), CRI (99) 11, pp 64
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ECRI Secretariat
Directorate of Human Rights
Council of Europe
F-67075 STRASBOURG Cedex
France
E-mail: [email protected]
Fax: 33 3 88 41 39 87
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