MINELRES: ERRC Letter: Forced Evictions of Roma in Bulgaria

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Original sender: European Roma Rights Centre <errc@errc.org>


Prime Minister Urged to Intervene to Stop Forced Expulsion of Roma from 
Housing in Sofia

Budapest, 1 September 2005. Today, the European Roma Rights Centre sent
a letter to Prime Minister of Bulgaria Mr Serguei Stanishev, urging him
to intervene to stop ongoing and threatened forced evictions of Roma in
the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, and to provide compensation for Roma
whose houses have been demolished. The letter was prompted by the
destruction of approximately 25 houses in the Hristo Botev neighbourhood
of Sofia on August 31 and the expulsion of Romani inhabitants from these
dwellings, as well as reported municipal plans to undertake further
forced evictions of Roma in the next days.

In the letter, the ERRC noted that a very significant part of the Romani 
community in Bulgaria lack security of tenure and live in a constant
state of threat of forced eviction from housing. Failure by the
Bulgarian government to date to comply with its obligations under
international law and to meet its commitments under the Framework
Program for the Equal Integration of Roma in Bulgaria exposes hundreds
of thousands of Romani individuals to serious violations of the right to
adequate housing, as well as a number of other fundamental rights. The
ERRC reminded Prime Minister Stanishev that a Collective Complaint under
the Revised European Social Charter is currently open against Bulgaria
for persistent and systematic violations of the right of the family to
social, legal and economic protection, as a result of the systemic
frustration of the rights of Roma to adequate housing in Bulgaria. The
Collective Complaint was brought by the ERRC in April 2005.

The full text of the letter is available at: 
http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=2381

The text of the ERRC Collective Complaint against Bulgaria on the
systemic frustration of the rights of Roma to adequate housing is
available at: 
http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=2269

Persons wishing to express similar concerns with respect to the housing 
situation of Roma in Bulgaria, and in particular the current implemented 
and/or planned forced evictions undertaken by the Sofia municipality are 
urged to contact:

Mr. Serguei Stanishev
Prime Minister of Republic Bulgaria
1 Dondukov Blvd.
Sofia
Bulgaria
Fax: +359-2-9802042
_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Centre 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 Centre, visit the ERRC on the web at
http://www.errc.org.

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

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

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