MINELRES: Fwd: Leading NGOs call on European Commission to clarify its position on Italian Roma policies and to make the response public
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Sun Sep 14 10:40:13 2008
Original sender: Roma Virtual Network <[email protected]>
EU ROMA POLICY COALITION
Amnesty International
European Roma Rights Center
European Roma Infomation Office
European Network Against Racism
Open Society Institute
SPOLU International Foundation
Minority Rights Group International
European Roma Grassroots Organisation
Roma Education Fund
Fondacion Secretariado Gitano
Leading NGOs call on European Commission to clarify its position on Italian
Roma policies and to make the response public
(Brussels, 9 September) The European Commission’s position regarding the
Italian government’s recent policies in relation to Roma needs to be
clarified, says the EU Roma Policy Coalition (ERPC).*
The Coalition is concerned by the comments of Commissioner Barrot’s
spokesperson – so far the only public response to the Maroni report.
The Commission appears to have taken the narrowest possible view, accepting
a “softened” version of the measures initially implemented by the Italian
government. These same measures had been severely criticized as discriminatory
and violating human rights law by the Council of Europe, civil society and
indeed the Commission itself.
The Coalition is worried that such an approach sends a dangerous signal,
particularly in Italy where anti-Roma speech and action have already reached
unacceptable levels such as the burning of camps by vigilante mobs. This
reality appears to be absent from the Commission’s current interpretation
according to which, a census of Roma community is acceptable as an ultimate
solution – even though a census carried out on the basis of ethnicity is
necessarily a discriminatory practice.
In the name of transparency, it is in the Commission’s interest to provide
adequate explanations about its conclusions and to render all relevant
documents public.
As the Commission prepares to host a summit designed to debate Roma exclusion
in Europe, it is crucial that there are no misunderstandings of where it
stands in regard to the basic rights of Roma living in Europe.
The Coalition therefore calls on the Commission to:
- Fully disclose the report and explanation on which the assessment is based;
- Clarify if the response to Maroni’s report implies a “green light” to the
action and measures being implemented, namely forced evictions, attacks on
Roma camps and derogatory or racist declarations by officials;
- Address Roma issues based on social inclusion policies, not on security
concerns.
* The EU Roma Policy Coalition (Coalition) is an informal gathering of NGOs
operating at EU level in the broader areas of human rights, anti-
discrimination, anti-racism, social inclusion and Roma and Travellers rights.
Current members of the ERPC are: Amnesty International, European Roma Rights
Centre, European Roma Information Office, European Network Against Racism,
Open Society Institute, Spolu Int. Foundation, Minority Rights Group
International, European Roma Grassroots Organisation, Roma Education Fund and
Fundacion Secretariado Gitano
For further information:
David Mark - ERPC Coordinator,
E-mail: [email protected]
or [email protected]
Tell: 0032-(0)2-502 46 46
Gsm: 0032-473 -186 061
www.romapolicy.eu
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