MINELRES: ERRC: RUSSIA BEFORE UN ANTI-RACISM COMMITTEE

[European Roma Rights Center]

ERRC SUBMITS WRITTEN COMMENTS CONCERNING THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION TO THE
UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

MARCH 10, 2003

Today, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination reviews the Russian Federation�s compliance with the
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination. In preparation for today�s meeting, the European Roma
Rights Center (ERRC) submitted written comments on the human rights
situation of Roma in the Russian Federation to the Committee for
consideration during its review.

The ERRC believes that today�s review offers an opportunity to highlight
some of the most significant respects in which the Government of the
Russian Federation has failed to fulfil its commitments under the
Convention. On the occasion of the review, ERRC Executive Director
Dimitrina Petrova, said: "Russia is in the throes of an extreme outbreak
of racism. Roma in Russia today are in a state of raw exposure to the
abuse of their fundamental rights. Reports of anti-Romani violence we
receive from Russia are, in magnitude and kind, of a different and
greater order than those we have seen elsewhere. And yet to date there
has been for the most part silence about Roma rights issues in Russia.
We hope CERD will today begin to change that."

The ERRC submission documents violations of Articles 2, 3, and 5 of the
Convention, as follows:

As to Article 2, the Government has failed to comply with its
obligations to �prohibit and bring to an end, by all appropriate means,
including legislation [�] racial discrimination.� The few relevant legal
provisions in this area are inadequate and fail to offer effective
protection from discrimination. In the absence of adequate
anti-discrimination provisions, Roma in Russia are subjected to
discrimination in nearly all areas of public life, from interaction with
law-enforcement authorities and the judiciary to the exercise of
economic, social and cultural rights.

As to Article 3 of the Convention, the ERRC is concerned that the
Government of the Russian Federation has failed to prevent, prohibit and
eradicate the racial segregation of Roma. A large number of Roma live in
a state of complete separation from mainstream society, in segregated
settlements or ghettos characterised by substandard conditions, and
which often have very problematic access to public transportation and
other services. This is a major obstacle for Roma seeking to gain access
to mainstream schooling or employment opportunities in Russia, and to
claim fundamental rights generally. Furthermore, the ERRC and partner
organisations have documented instances in which local authorities in
Russia have forced Roma out of integrated housing � either by
intimidating them into leaving town, or by simply escorting them out
with the assistance of local law-enforcement officials.

As to Article 5, research by the ERRC and its partner organisations in
Russia has established that Roma frequently fall victim to racially
motivated violence and abuse by both state and non-state actors. Police
abuse of Roma documented by the ERRC in a number of instances rises to
the level of torture, sometimes resulting in deaths in custody. In
addition, police engage in massive and often widely publicised abusive
raids on Romani communities and households, as well as abusive and often
malicious investigation of Roma on often arbitrary or simply racist
grounds. Also, in recent years, members of formal or informal
nationalist-extremist vigilante groups have increasingly targeted Roma
for violent attacks.

When such abuses occur, they are rarely investigated and even more
rarely punished by Russian authorities. Complaints concerning human
rights abuses against Roma are either completely ignored by police
officials and prosecutorial authorities, or, at best, are investigated
only pro forma. When seeking redress for police inaction in cases of
human rights violations, Roma are often arbitrarily denied justice by
the courts, which place insurmountable bureaucratic obstacles in the way
of the victims� access to judicial remedies. Roma who enter the judicial
system in the capacity of defendants frequently find themselves
arbitrarily subjected to longer periods of detention than non-Roma both
in the pre-trial period and following sentencing. Frequently the sole
effective method of seeking release from arbitrary detention is the
payment of bribes. Law-enforcement authorities have also failed
adequately to protect Roma from a wave of racially motivated violence by
non-state actors.

Finally, the ERRC and its partner organisations have documented
violations of the rights of Roma to be free from discrimination in the
exercise of economic and social rights, as protected by Article 5 of the
Convention. Roma in the Russian Federation suffer from discrimination in
the field of housing; in particular, Roma are denied basic security of
tenure and their access to adequate housing is effectively blocked by
local authorities in a number of localities.

Based on its findings, the ERRC recommends that the Russian Government
undertake the following measures:

- Adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation in line with
current international standards in the field.

- Without delay, ratify Protocol No. 12 to the European Convention on
Human Rights.

- Investigate promptly and impartially incidents of violence against
Roma and prosecute the perpetrators of such crimes to the fullest extent
of the law, whether the perpetrators are law- enforcement officers or
private parties; make public guidelines to law-enforcement and judicial
authorities on identifying, investigating, and punishing
racially-motivated crime.

- Publish detailed statistics disaggregated by race and ethnicity, at
minimum yearly and in a format readily understandable to a lay person,
on the number of racially motivated crimes occurring and prosecuted.

- Adopt effective measures to prevent, identify and, where occurring,
punish manifestations of racial bias in the judicial system.

- Take swift action to stamp out corruption among law-enforcement
authorities and members of the judiciary.

- Without delay, curb discriminatory segregationist practices in the
field of housing and punish those responsible for actions aimed at
forcing Roma out of integrated housing arrangements.

- Provide security of tenure for residents of Romani communities and
informal settlements, and protect the inhabitants from forced and
arbitrary evictions, as well as segregationist practices.

- Ensure effective remedy for cases of discrimination against Roma in
the field of housing.

- Undertake effective measures to ensure that local authorities register
all persons actually residing in a given municipality, without regard to
race.

- Provide free legal aid to members of weak groups, including Roma and
the indigent.

- Conduct comprehensive human rights and anti-racism training for the
national and local administration, members of the police force and of
the judiciary.

- At the highest levels, speak out against racial discrimination against
Roma and others, and make clear that racism will not be tolerated.

The full text of the ERRC written submission is available on the
Internet at: http://www.errc.org/publications/legal/index.shtml.

The ERRC is an international public interest law organisation which
monitors the situation of Roma in Europe and provides legal defence in
cases of human rights abuse. Since its establishment in 1996, the ERRC
has undertaken first-hand field research in more than a dozen countries,
including Russia, and has disseminated numerous publications, from
book-length studies to advocacy letters and public statements. ERRC
publications about Russia and other countries, as well as additional
information about the organisation, are available on the Internet at
http://www.errc.org.


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The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence
in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the European
Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary


Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201

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