ERRC Letter to Slovene Minister of Interior
Reply-To: [email protected]
Sender: [email protected]
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 16:52:42 +0300 (EEST)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: ERRC Letter to Slovene Minister of Interior
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <[email protected]>
ERRC Letter to Slovene Minister of Interior
ERRC Letter to Slovene Minister of Interior
July 18, 2001
On July 18, 2001, the European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an
international public interest law organisation which monitors the
human rights situation of Roma and provides legal defence in cases of
human rights abuse, sent a letter to Dr Rado Bohinc, the Minister of
Internal Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, to express concern about
the reported difficulties that Roma in Slovenia face when attempting
to obtain Slovene residence permits and/or Slovene citizenship.
The ERRC has received information that Mr Sead Alimanovic, a Romani
man originally from Bosnia, faces possible deportation, because his
February application for a Slovene residence permit remains unanswered
as a result of the failure of local authorities to provide the
necessary housing certification. Mr Alimanovic has lived in Ljubljana,
Slovenia, since 1985, with a break from 1992 to 1997, when he was in
Germany. For eleven years, he has been legally married to a Slovene
citizen, and their three children all have Slovene citizenship.
However, as of July 18, 2001, Mr Alimanovic had been unable to obtain
a residence permit in Slovenia, due to the restrictive policies of the
Slovene authorities pertaining to the status of foreigners and
citizenship procedures. If Mr Alimanovic is not successful in
obtaining a residence permit for Slovenia, he will be forced to leave
the country and thus be forcibly separated from his family.
ERRC field research in Slovenia in February 2001 documented a number
of cases similar to that of Mr Alimanovic of Roma who are originally
from other former Yugoslav republics, who lived in Slovenia when the
country was a part of the Yugoslav federation, and who lost the right
to residence when Slovenia became independent in 1991. Currently, it
is estimated that at least 75% of Roma whose official documents or
names link them to other former Yugoslav republics do not have Slovene
citizenship or legal residence in Slovenia.
In its July 18 letter, the ERRC reminded Minister Bohinc of Slovenia's
duties under international law to respect the right to family life,
the right to an effective legal remedy for violations suffered, and of
the respective non-discrimination provisions to which Slovenia has
voluntarily committed itself. Additionally, the ERRC called attention
to Slovenia's duties under international law to take steps to reduce
the effects of statelessness in its territory.
Further information on the situation of Roma in Slovenia is available
on the Internet at:
http://errc.org/publications/indices/slovenia.shtml. It is also the
subject of a field report in the forthcoming ERRC quarterly Roma
Rights 2/2001.
The text of the letter follows:
Honourable Dr Bohinc,
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC), an international public
interest law organisation which monitors the human rights situation of
Roma and provides legal defence in cases of human rights abuse, is
concerned about the reported difficulties that Roma in Slovenia face
when attempting to obtain Slovene residence permits and/or Slovene
citizenship.
The ERRC has received information that Mr Sead Alimanovic, a Romani
man originally from Bosnia, faces possible deportation, because his
February application for a Slovene residence permit remains
unanswered, as it is allegedly incomplete. Mr Alimanovic has lived in
Ljubljana, Slovenia, since 1985, with a break from 1992 to 1997, when
he was in Germany. For eleven years, he has been legally married to a
Slovene citizen, and their three children all have Slovene
citizenship. However, as of July 18, 2001, Mr Alimanovic had been
unable to obtain a residence permit in Slovenia, due to the
restrictive policies of the Slovene authorities pertaining to the
status of foreigners and citizenship procedures. If Mr Alimanovic does
not obtain a residence permit for Slovenia, he will be forced to leave
the country and thus be forcibly separated from his family.
According to Mr Alimanovic=92s testimony, provided to the ERRC on
March 21, 2001, his temporary visa for Slovenia expired on February
17. Before his visa expired, on February 2, he applied for a
three-year residence permit (application number:
3283-25204-621(60785)) pursuant to Article 37 of the Slovenian Aliens
Act of 1999. According to this article, foreigners who are immediate
family members of Slovene citizens have the right to apply for
three-year residence permits, with the possibility of later extension.
On March 12, however, he received a letter from the Office for
Passports and Foreigners of the Sector for Administrative Internal
Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Administrative Unit Ljubljana,
where he had applied for the visa, informing him that they required an
additional document proving that he has housing in Slovenia.
Mr Alimanovic subsequently went to the offices of the Housing Fund of
Ljubljana Municipalities on March 21. His request for a certificate
acknowledging that he has suitable housing was refused by the official
responsible on the grounds that he had occupied his current flat by
force. However, the same office issues bills to the Alimanovic family
at the same address. Mr Alimanovic previously appealed in writing to
the same office for this document in May 2000, and was refused with
the same argument. Mr Alimanovic claims that he turned an abandoned
toilet cabin into a flat, and that as there was no such flat on that
location before, he could not have moved in by force.
On March 26, Mr Alimanovic filed an appeal with the Office for
Passports and Foreigners, explaining that he had been unable to obtain
a document proving that he has housing in Slovenia. On March 29, the
ERRC sent a letter of concern to the same office, as well as to the
Housing Fund, indicating concerns that Slovenia risks contravening
several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights by
continuing to deny Mr Alimanovic a residence permit. In response to
the ERRC letter, on April 23, the Housing Fund issued a certificate to
his wife, Ms Alimanovi=E6, stating inter alia that the family had
moved into their current residence by force, but also that they have
been paying for utilities since February 5, 1999.
Mr Alimanovic submitted this certificate with the Office for Passports
and Foreigners shortly afterwards. However, as of July 18, his
application remained unanswered. The response to Mr Alimanovic's oral
inquiries as to the status of his application was again that he still
had not submitted a relevant housing certificate.
This state of affairs has serious negative consequences for Mr
Alimanovic. His father died recently in Bosnia, and Mr Alimanovic was
unable to attend the funeral because of the unsolved visa situation.
Had Mr Alimanovic left the country, he would most likely not have been
able to return to Slovenia without further bureaucratic difficulties,
as Bosnian citizens must obtain visas before entering Slovenia. Mr
Alimanovic told the ERRC he was concerned that, if the authorities
persist in refusing to issue him a residence permit, his residence in
Slovenia will be rendered illegal, with the result that he may be
forced to leave Slovenia, and thus will be forcibly separated from his
wife and children.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly held that the
arbitrary separation of families via the means of expulsion, absent a
legitimate aim pursued, constitutes a breach of Article 8 of the
European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Further, in light of the
fact that there are repeated allegations that such measures are
exercised disproportionately against Roma, the repeated denial of a
residence permit to Mr Alimanovic may also constitute a violation of
Article 14 of the ECHR, the non-discrimination provision of the
Convention.
Additionally, ERRC field research in Slovenia in February 2001
documented a number of cases similar to that of Mr Alimanovic of Roma
who are originally from other former Yugoslav republics, who lived in
Slovenia when the country was a part of the Yugoslav federation, and
who lost the right to residence when Slovenia became independent in
1991. Currently, it is estimated that at least 75% of Roma originally
from other former Yugoslav republics do not have Slovene citizenship
or legal residence in Slovenia. In addition, numerous Roma testified
to the ERRC about cases in which they felt they were singled out by
the police and arbitrarily charged for offences related to a lack of
adequate documents because they look Romani.
The Roma interviewed by the ERRC expressed deep disappointment with
the fact that the country in which they have lived for decades, to
which they have formed legitimate ties, and in which a number of their
young children were born, has overnight chosen to deprive them of
equal treatment with the rest of the population, or at best treat them
as foreigners. The fact that, for most of the 20th century, Slovenia
was an integral part of the country of origin for an overwhelming
majority of people now applying for Slovene citizenship is a
consideration of paramount importance under international law. We
respectfully remind your office that Slovenia is a signatory to the
United Nations 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless
Persons, which states, inter alia, "The Contracting States shall as
far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of
stateless persons. They shall in particular make every effort to
expedite naturalization proceedings and to reduce as far as possible
the charges and costs of such proceedings." (Article 32).
Additionally, Article 18 of the 1997 European Convention on
Nationality calls for the following action with regards to
statelessness resulting from state succession:
1. In matters of nationality in cases of State succession, each State
Party concerned shall respect the principles of the rule of law, the
rules concerning human rights and the principles contained in Articles
4 and 5 of this Convention and in paragraph 2 of this article, in
particular in order to avoid statelessness.
2. In deciding on the granting or the retention of nationality in
cases of State succession, each State Party concerned shall take
account in particular of:
a. the genuine and effective link of the person concerned with the
State;
b. the habitual residence of the person concerned at the time of
State succession;
c. the will of the person concerned;
d. the territorial origin of the person concerned.
Articles 4 and 5 affirm the right to a nationality, and the principle
of non-discrimination in matters pertaining to nationality
respectively.
Honourable Minister Bohinc, in the case of Mr Alimanovic, we urge your
office to take into consideration the fact that Mr Alimanovic is
married to a Slovenian national, has three children from the marriage,
has a home in Slovenia, and has lived in the country for more than
eleven years, and to accordingly grant him legal residence. We also
respectfully request to be informed of any actions taken by your
office in this case. Additionally, the ERRC calls upon your office to
do everything in your power to reduce statelessness among Roma in
Slovenia. We additionally call upon the Slovene authorities to sign
and ratify the 1997 European Convention on Nationality, and to bring
Slovene legislation into conformity with internationals norms on
citizenship in the context of state succession.
Sincerely,
Dimitrina Petrova
Executive Director
Persons wishing to express similar concerns are urged to contact:
Dr Rado Bohinc
Minister of Internal Affairs
8Atefanova 2
1000 Ljubljana
Slovenia
Fax: (+386 1) 251 43 30
E-mail: [email protected]
_____________________________________________
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
_____________________________________________
SUPPORT THE ERRC!
The European Roma Rights Center 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 Center
Budapest Bank Rt.
99P00402686
1054 Budapest
Bathory utca 1
Hungary
For correspondence, to subscribe and unsubscribe from this list,
please use:
[email protected].
--
==============================================================
MINELRES - a forum for discussion on minorities in Central&Eastern
Europe
Submissions: [email protected]
Subscription/inquiries: [email protected]
List archive: http://www.riga.lv/minelres/archive.htm
==============================================================