MINELRES: Roma Rights No. 2, 2008

[minelres@lists.microlink.lv]

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


Roma Rights 2, 2008 

Italy�s Bad Example 

2008-09 will be remembered by Roma rights and human rights activists for
the extremely troublesome situation of Romani communities in Italy.
Mounting racism and anti-Romani sentiment erupted in Naples and Milan in
May 2008. Moreover, various legal measures and policies adopted by the
public authorities, such as the ongoing �census� of the Romani
population and the transportation of Roma to special camps even further
from city centres in order to �sanitise� urban centres were outright
abuses of individual freedoms and rights. Growing fear and hatred of
Roma among the general population on the one hand and the hostile
approach of the national government and some local administrations on
the other created a witch hunt atmosphere directed against even
long-established Romani and Sinti Italian citizens as well as newly
arriving Romani migrants. 

It is true that the problems of Roma are not limited to Italy only. Roma
are struggling to cope with physical violence, segregation and other
forms of discrimination all over Europe. The uniqueness of the Italian
case is that the Government at its highest levels has made a policy of
promoting racial animosity and xenophobia. 

This issue of Roma Rights attempts to analyse the dynamics of
anti-Romani policies, practices and sentiments in Italy. Henry Scicluna
presents a review of the Italian government's anti-Romani policy and
practice dating back to 2001, and surveys the mirroring of these
xenophobic and fearful approaches among the general public and the
media. He also notes that the hostility towards Roma has roots reaching
back past the recent events. 

Secondly, Lorenzo Trucco provides an overview of legal provisions in
Italy affecting migrants generally, and Romani migrants in particular,
as well as Italian citizens of Romani origin. The article notes that,
for the most part, the Italian approach to controlling migration and to
addressing Roma issues has been punitive. In the following article,
Piero Colacicchi recounts the origins of Italian government policy to
encourage the creation of special camps for Roma and the ensuing
negative consequences. Fourthly, Erika Szyszczak, formerly the Board
Chair of the ERRC, writes about one of the most contentious issues at
the core of the Roma problem in Italy and elsewhere; that of citizenship
and the meaning of citizenship in the European Union. 


Editorial  

Exclusion as State Policy (Rob Kushen)  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/B4/m000003B4.pdf 

Notebook 

To Be a Citizen? (Erika Szyszczak)  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/B5/m000003B5.pdf

The Life and Death of Roma and Sinti in Italy: A Modern Tragedy (Henry
Scicluna)  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/B6/m000003B6.pdf

Legal and Policy Developments in the Condition of Migrants and Roma in
Italy (Lorenzo Trucco)  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/B7/m000003B7.pdf

Ethnic Profiling and Discrimination against Roma in Italy: New
Developments in a Deep-Rooted Tradition (Piero Colacicchi)  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/B8/m000003B8.pdf


Advocacy 

D.H. and Others Tabled for Discussion One Year on  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/B9/m000003B9.pdf


Legal Defense 

Discrimination of Roma in Russia: An Update (Natasha Kravchuk)  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/BA/m000003BA.pdf

Stanislav Markelov: The death of a Roma rights defender  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/BB/m000003BB.pdf


Meet the ERRC 

�Discovering� Roma (Sinan Gokcen)  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/BC/m000003BC.pdf


Romani Language Publication 

Internacionalno Konvencija vash e Hakjanegiri/ Chachipenengi/ Protekcija
Sa e Bucharne Migrantongi thaj olengere Familijengere
Manushengi/Membrongi/  
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/BD/m000003BD.pdf

Chronicle 
View it: http://www.errc.org/db/03/BE/m000003BE.pdf

-------------------------------------------------------------

The European Roma Rights Centre is an international public interest law
organisation which monitors the human rights situation 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 

To support the ERRC, please visit this link:
http://www.errc.org/cikk.php?cikk=2735 

European Roma Rights Centre
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary
Tel: +36.1.413.2200
Fax:
+36.1.413.2201

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