MINELRES: ERRC Publication: Ukraine Country Report

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Sat Dec 16 18:08:06 2006 

Original sender: European Roma Rights Centre <[email protected]>


12 December 2006

Announcement of Publication

Proceedings Discontinued: The Inertia of Roma Rights Change in Ukraine

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) announces publication today of
"Proceedings Discontinued: The Inertia of Roma Rights Change in
Ukraine", a comprehensive Country Report on the human rights situation
of Roma in Ukraine.

The ERRC has undertaken extensive research, policy, law and training
work in Ukraine due to the very serious issues Roma face in Ukraine. The
ERRC published a comprehensive Country Report on the situation of
Ukraine in 1997. The ERRC followed up this report with a 2001
publication updating developments since the 1997 report. Since 2003,
with the support of the European Commission and the Swedish
International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the ERRC has been
involved in a large three-year human rights research, training and
advocacy project in Ukraine, involving a number of local Romani
organisations. Research toward and publication of "Proceedings
Discontinued" are components of this project.

Roma in Ukraine are extremely vulnerable to infringements of fundamental
human rights. A number of very serious instances of violent human rights
abuse have taken place in Ukraine in recent years. In addition,
systematic issues, such as widespread racial discrimination in a number
of sectoral fields and the exclusion of Roma from personal and other
documents, remain entirely unaddressed by government action to date.

Matters documented in detail by the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)
and partner organisations in this report include:
* Violence, including racially motivated violence and extreme forms of
violence by state and non-state actors;
* Racial targeting, racial profiling and racial discrimination in
criminal justice matters, including the systematic data-basing of Roma
by the police in Ukraine;
* Racial discrimination in social and economic areas, including housing,
health care, education, employment and social services;
* Widespread lack of personal and other documents, effectively denying
Roma the right to a legal personality, thwarting access to basic
services, and hindering even basic civil and political participation.

Current Ukrainian laws are not sufficient to adequately protect against
or punish acts of racial discrimination. The absence of any
comprehensive anti-discrimination law in Ukraine makes it virtually
impossible for victims of discrimination in Ukraine to use legal means
to secure justice. Furthermore, even in areas where some legal
provisions and mechanisms do exist, government authorities and the
judicial system continue to be unable or unwilling to utilize them to
bring about meaningful change for Roma in Ukraine.

"Proceedings Discontinued" provides a summary of ERRC documentation in a
number of areas of relevance to international human rights law,
including details of legal action in which the ERRC is directly
involved. The report concludes with a number of recommendations to the
government of Ukraine, detailing measures needed to bring about durable
change to the human rights situation of Roma in Ukraine.

"Proceedings Discontinued" is published in English and Ukrainian
versions, with a Romani-language summary. "Proceedings Discontinued" can
be downloaded at: http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=115

To receive copies of "Proceedings Discontinued", please contact the ERRC
at: [email protected]

For further information on the human rights situation of Roma in
Ukraine, please contact:
* Zemfira Kondur: [email protected], [email protected], (380 97) 33
95 974
* Claude Cahn: [email protected], (36 20) 98 36 445
_____________________________________________

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
_____________________________________________

SUPPORT THE ERRC

The European Roma Rights Centre is dependent upon the generosity of
individual donors for its continued existence. If you believe the ERRC
performs a service valuable to the public, please join in enabling its
future with a contribution. Gifts of all sizes are welcome; bank
transfers are preferred. Please send your contribution to:

European Roma Rights Centre
Budapest Bank Rt.
99P00402686
1054 Budapest
Bathory utca 1
Hungary

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