Human
rights news: October 2003
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09 October 2003 |
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Human Rights Project Press ReleaseBulgaria: The Government Approved Action Plan on Roma Issues Yet Again Turns its Back on Desegregation of Roma Schools |
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Sofia, October 8, 2003 - On September 25, 2003 the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria approved a special Action Plan for Implementation of the Framework Program for Equal Integration of Roma in the Bulgarian Society for the rest of the current year and for 2004. That approval was widely publicized in Bulgaria and abroad as ‘new step in the efforts of the Government of Bulgaria to solve the problem of the Roma minority on the road to joining of our country to the European Union’. Ms Husmenova (she is Member of the Council of Ministers in charge of minority issues) visited Brussels to advertise the plan. It was especially emphasized that the Action Plan was the first complex program directed to implementation of the aims of the Framework Program. Unfortunately we do not have the Action Plan available, because of the office of the National Council on Ethnic and Demographic Issues have asserted the document had not reached the office of the Council yet. After obtaining the Action Plan Human Rights Project will comment it. The process of approval of that Action Plan was beneath criticism. The draft was disseminated among the members of the Sub-commission on Roma Issues of the National Council at the day when the discussion had to take place (September 15, 2003). People had not time to read the document and to think on it. The content of the Plan is not fully known, but what is known with certainty (by statements of government’s officials) is that the draft provided the amount of 6 000 000 Bulgarian levas (approximately 3 000 000 EUR) toward the establishment of an Equal Access Fund. The aim of the Fund was to implement projects for desegregation of the so-called ‘Roma schools’. Unfortunately there is no such fund in the final Action Plan. In thid way the start of mass desegregation of the Roma schools again was postponed for an undefined future. This means that again at least 10 000 Roma children (these who will become students in 2004) will lose the possibility to attend normal schools. On September 17, 2003 three NGOs that work on the field of Roma human rights sent a letter with criticism to the Draft Action Plan to Ms Filiz Husmenova, Member of the Council of Ministers of Bulgaria and Chairperson of the National Council on Ethnic and Demographic Issues. See below the full text of it.
Her Excellency Filiz Husmenova September 17, 2003 Dear Ms Husmenova: We address you on behalf of some NGOs that have been at the root of the elaboration of the Framework Program for Equal Integration of Roma in the Bulgarian Society. The occasion is the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Framework Program that was under discussion on September 15, 03 at a meeting of Sub-commission on Roma problems of the National Council on Ethnic and Demographic Issues. According to our data it was adopted in a hurry after its dissemination among the members of the above mentioned Sub-commission at the last minute. We don’t have any doubts presents by itself a considerable progress toward equal integration of one underprivileged minority by demonstration of the concern of the government toward the practical execution of the Program. A lot of measures provided in the Action Plan will ensure a protection against discrimination and will give a contribution to the improvement of the social status of the Roma in Bulgaria. Nevertheless there are some problems in the Action Plan that deserve to be discussed at one larger forum. The first of them is the absence in the Action Plan of enough and adequate reforms in the legislation in a number of basic spheres of the application of the Framework Program like education, health service and housing. Without these reforms the desegregation of the Roma schools, the improving of the access of Roma to health service and also the regulation of the Roma neighbors is unthinkable despite of the measures that are provided in the Action Plan. Secondly we are concerned about the lack of any funding for some of the priorities of the Framework Program and, on the contrary about the providing of relatively big funding for measures that are not listed in the Framework Program. For instance, there are no money provided in the Action Plan for ensuring of a special transportation of the Roma children to the integrated schools. As it is well known without appropriate transportation it is senseless even to speak about desegregation especially in the big cities. Money that are provided for the regularize of the Roma neighbors are extremely insufficient and they are designed only for the elaboration of cadastral plans. These plans will be elaborated on the basis of the current normative basis on the arrangement of the territory. But you know that the whole solving of the problem with the arrangement of the Roma neighbors on the basis of the current legislation is unable. The situation with the access to health service is similar because in the Action Plane there are funds that are provided by one of the PHARE projects. Unfortunately no changes in the legislation for the access to health service are provided. But the experience from the last years shows us that the existing legislation in the sphere of the health service is the main reason for the exclusion of big groups extremely poor people (among them the Roma are the vast majority) from the access to health service. The Action Plan provides a number of physician practices to be opened in the Roma neighbors. But this can’t increase the access to the health service among Roma because a big part of them do not have medical insurance. And that lack is due to the existing legislation in that sphere. On the other hand we are at a loss from the fact that a lot of money in the Action Plan are provided for programs like “From Social Relief to Employment” and ‘Beauty Bulgaria’ that although benefits a part of Roma community are not specific Roma programs. Dear Ms. Husmenova, All of these as well as another similar problems connected with the Action Plan for Implementation of the Framework Program demand a larger discussion among the groups and experts who are interested. We understand that the moment situation probably forces the prompt adoption of the Action Plane before the publication of the Annual Report of the European Commission that will make a review of the progress of Bulgaria in the process of joining to the European Union. But let us to turn your attention on the fact, that the equal integration of the minorities in our country is a process that has to favor namely the minorities but not the circles who are interested in the assessment of the European Commission. Because of it we ask you to organize widely discussion prior the final approval of the Action Plan. In that discussion, according to our opinion, should take part as Roma, as all of these who have expert opinion on all points raised here. We are ready to take active part in such a discussion and to attract qualified experts on the fields. With respect: Krassimir Kanev, Chair of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Emil Cohen, Executive Director of Human Rights Project Kalinka Vassileva, Executive Director of Equal Access Foundation _____________ *Human Rights Project was established in the summer of 1992 as a non-profit organization focusing on monitoring the human rights situation of the Roma in Bulgaria, and on legal defense in cases of serious human rights abuses. The HRP monitors the human rights situation of the Roma community in Bulgaria and reports on the cases which it had investigated; works with Roma volunteers from all over the country who report on the human rights observation in their region; conduct independent extrajudicial investigation into allegations of human rights violations against Roma; hire lawyers to take up selected cases and monitors the process of legal defense; advocates legislative and policy changes in favor of Roma.
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