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The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) welcomes the adoption by the Bulgarian
Parliament, on September 16, 2003, of a comprehensive anti-discrimination
law. Speaking on the occasion of the adoption of the
law, ERRC Executive Director Dimitrina Petrova said: "This law is
of particular significance for Roma. It opens the door for the provision
of real and significant remedies to Romani victims of the very serious
harm of
racial discrimination, and moves Roma rights issues to a new level in
Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Parliament has provided real political leadership
to the governments of other countries of the Central and Eastern European
region -- and indeed of Europe -- by demonstrating that adopting comprehensive
anti-discrimination law is both possible and desirable."
The law as adopted bans discrimination on a number of grounds, including
race, gender, religion, disability, age, and sexual orientation. The law
provides that in prima facie cases of discrimination, the respondent has
the burden of proving that discrimination did not occur. The law establishes
an anti-discrimination Commission with specialised subcommittees for racial
and gender discrimination. The Commission will consist of 9 members, 5
elected by Parliament and 4 appointed by the President, and will have
the power to receive and investigate complaints and issue binding rulings,
as well as to impose significant sanctions on perpetrators. The law includes
provisions such that more than one victim
can join a complaint in cases where the discriminatory abuse harms groups
of people.
The law is in harmony with European Council of the European Union Directives
2000/43, 2000/78, 2002/73, providing the current standards on anti-discrimination
law in Europe. The law also fulfils prior obligations
freely adopted by the Bulgarian government in the Framework Programme
for the Equal Integration of Roma into Bulgarian Society. The law consolidates
Bulgarian anti-discrimination law -- to date scattered among various domestic
legal provisions and for the most part ineffective -- into a single comprehensive
act, thus improving the chances for real and comprehensive enforceability
in practice.
The ERRC's legal consultant in Bulgaria, Margarita Ilieva, played a leading
role in drafting and lobbying for passage of the law. The ERRC joins with
Bulgarian civil society -- most notably the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee,
which took a leading role in pressing for adoption of the law -- in urging
the Bulgarian government to establish without delay the anti-discrimination
Commission provided by the law, and ensure that it is staffed with
individuals of relevant competence and experience with human rights issues.
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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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