ERRC Statement on the Occasion of the ECHR 50th Anniversary
Reply-To: [email protected]
Sender: [email protected]
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2000 14:30:45 +0200 (EET)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: ERRC Statement on the Occasion of the ECHR 50th Anniversary
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: European Roma Rights Center <[email protected]>
ERRC Statement on the Occasion of the ECHR 50th Anniversary
Statement of the European Roma Rights Center on the Occasion of the
Fiftieth Anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights
November 2, 2000
The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest
law organisation which monitors the situation of Roma and provides
legal defence in cases of human rights abuse. On the occasion of the
fiftieth anniversary of the European Convention on Human Rights, ERRC
notes the outstanding accomplishments of the European Court and the
former European Commission of Human Rights in propounding human rights
in Europe. At the same time, we urge the Court to reinforce its
commitment to the protection of the rights of the Roma. ERRC is
concerned by the weakness of anti-discrimination jurisprudence and by
racially-motivated violence, which is the daily reality of the Roma
community.
Examples of the far-reaching effects of the Court's decisions are
many: the introduction of new rules governing the treatment of
detainees following the Ireland v. United Kingdom decision, [1] the
passage of a new law on telephone surveillance in conformity with the
convention following Huvig v. France [2], and the outlawing of
corporal punishment in schools after the Court found the practice to
violate the Article 3 prohibition against inhuman or degrading
treatment. [3]
Notwithstanding the Court's and Commission's remarkable achievements
in many areas, however, jurisprudence relating to discrimination - in
particular, discrimination based on race - has not progressed as
quickly as we may have hoped. The European Commission's far-sighted
ruling in the East African Asians Case [4] in 1973 has yet to be
embraced by the Court. That case involved a challenge to British
immigration legislation which singled out U.K. passport holders of
Asian origin and resident in East Africa, and denied them admission to
the United Kingdom. The Commission affirmed that "a special
importance should be attached to discrimination based on race" [5] and
that such discrimination "could, in certain circumstances, of itself
amount to degrading treatment within the meaning of Article 3 of the
Convention." [6] Unfortunately, this principle has not been further
developed by the Court.
The Court has an important role to play in cases relating to Romani
applicants, which often are brought in reaction to the pervasive and
systemic discrimination in many of the countries where they live. Of
the handful of decisions involving Roma to date, the results have been
mixed. The first case initiated by a Roma applicant to ever reach the
Court was Buckley v. the United Kingdom [7], decided on September 25,
1996. That case involved a Roma woman who tried to station the three
caravans in which she had been living with her children and mother on
a piece of land she owned in South Cambridgeshire, England. District
authorities claimed that the presence of caravans on the site harmed
the character and appearance of the countryside, and ordered them
removed. Ms. Buckley argued that the refusal to grant permission to
live on her own land violated her right to respect for home and family
life, as protected by Article 8 of the Convention, and that British
planning policy was discriminatory in character by not taking account
of the traditional lifestyle of the Roma. The Court acknowledged that
the measures taken had interfered with Ms. Buckley's right to respect
for her home, but ultimately rejected her claim, concluding that a due
balance had been struck between the interests of the general community
and the applicant's right to establish a home on her land. In a
powerful dissenting opinion, Judge Pettiti agreed with the
Commission's original decision in the case, finding that the British
authorities had placed a disproportionate burden on Ms. Buckley by not
fully taking into account the traditional lifestyle of Roma as an
inherent element in their right to family life.
The first case involving a Roma applicant from Central and Eastern
Europe was more successful. That case, Assenov and others v. Bulgaria
[8], began with the arrest of a 14-year-old Romani boy for gambling in
the market square. While he was in custody, the police struck him
with truncheons and punched him repeatedly in the stomach. He and his
parents filed complaints with every available criminal investigative
authority, up to and including the Chief General Prosecutor. None of
the investigative bodies initiated criminal proceedings against the
police. He was subsequently arrested on other charges and held in
pretrial detention for two years. The Court found that the Bulgarian
government violated Article 3 (right not to be subjected to torture or
inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment) by failing to
adequately investigate the allegations of mistreatment, Article 5
(right to liberty) by failing, following the subsequent arrest, to
have a court determine the lawfulness of his pre-trial detention and
to bring him to trial within a reasonable time, Article 13 (right to
an effective remedy) by failing to conduct an investigation into the
claims of mistreatment, and Article 25 (obligation not to interfere
with the right to petition) by pressuring two applicants into denying
having made an application.
A subsequent case decided in May 2000, Velikova v. Bulgaria [9],
involved the death of a Romani man, Slavtcho Tsonchev, who was
brutally beaten while in police custody and died. The Court held that
Bulgaria had violated Article 2 (right to life) and Article 13 (right
to an effective remedy). The failure to conduct an effective
investigation into Mr. Tsonchev's death undermined the effectiveness
of any other remedy which might have existed. His widow was awarded
damages for pain and suffering as well as pecuniary damages.
A number of other cases brought by Roma applicants are currently
pending before the Court, providing ample evidence that the rights
guaranteed under the Convention are not always guaranteed in practice
for Roma by the Member States of the Council of Europe. The Court thus
will have real opportunities in the coming years to send a clear
signal that discrimination and violations of Roma rights will not be
tolerated.
Governments also will have an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment
to the struggle against racism and discrimination. Article 14 of the
Convention prohibits discrimination with respect to the rights and
freedoms set forth in the Convention, but does not extend such
protection with respect to other rights and freedoms that may exist
under domestic laws or other international instruments. ERRC urges
the prompt and unequivocal ratification by all Council of Europe
Member States of the recently adopted Protocol No. 12, which creates a
general guarantee of the fundamental human right to equal treatment
without discrimination and which opens for signature in connection
with the 50th anniversary commemorative events on November 4, 2000.
Endnotes:
[1] 2 EHRR 25 (1978)
[2] A-176-B, Judgment of 24 April, 1990
[3] Campbell and Cosans v. United Kingdom, 2 EHRR 293 (1982)
[4] 3 EHRR 76 (1973)
[5] ibid, para. 207
[6] ibid, para. 196
[7] 23/1995/529/615, September 25 1996, Reports 1996-IV, No.16
[8] 90/1997/874/1086, October 28 1998, Reports 1998-VIII
[9] App. 00041488/98, Judgment of 18 May, 2000
*****************
NEW NUMBERS FROM NOVEMBER 27, 2000:
TEL.: +36 1 4132200 -- FAX: +36 1 4132201
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://errc.org
European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary
Telephone: (36 1) 42 82 351
Fax: (36 1) 42 82 356
*****************
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
--
==============================================================
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
==============================================================