Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Seventy-s event h session

2–27 August 2010

Implementation of the International Convention on the Elim ination of All Forms of Racial D iscrimination

List of themes to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the sixteenth to nineteenth periodic reports of Romania (CERD/C/ROU/16-19)

The following is a list of themes identified by the Country Rapporteur in connection with the consideration of the sixteenth to nineteenth periodic reports of Romania. The list is meant to guide the dialogue between the State party delegation and the Committee and does not require written replies. This is not an exhaustive list as other issues will be raised in the course of the dialogue.

1.Scarcity of reliable demographic indicators and composition of the population:

(a)Measures taken by the State party to understand its demographic composition and determine progress and trends in the elimination of racial discrimination, such as: identification surveys to assess the situation of different minority groups and non-citizens residing in the State party; collection of information through the use of languages, mother tongues, social surveys; or development of measurable indicators and their analysis (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 6-7).

2.The Convention in domestic law; legislative and policy framework for its implementation, judicial recourse and compensation (arts. 1, 2, 6):

(a)Progress in the implementation of existing legal, policy, and institutional frameworks to combat racial discrimination, including changes following entry into the European Union and adhesion to relevant European Union legislation (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, para. 9);

(b)Organizational chart and status of the institutional mechanisms available for combating racial discrimination and their coordinating mechanisms, including the National Agency for Roma, the National Council for Combating Discrimination, the Ombudsman, the Commission for Anti-Poverty and Promotion of Social Inclusion, and the Council of National Minorities (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 28 ff.);

(c)Measures taken to strengthen the National Council for Combating Discrimination to fully align it to the Paris Principles, as well as information on reviews of the work of this council (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 27, 52 ff.);

(d)The existing instances in the State party mandated to receive allegations of racial discrimination, including information on how conflict of competence is avoided among them, statistical data on the number of registered racial discrimination complaints in the last five years, and their follow-up (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 22, 29, 59 ff.).

3.Discrimination against Roma (arts. 2, 3, 5, and 7):

(a)The implementation of any special measures for the advancement of members of the Roma communities (CERD/C/304/Add.85, para. 15; CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 125, 167);

(b)Progress to address substantive discrimination experienced by Roma children in schools and to implement the 2004 Government notice on the banning of school segregation (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 125, 179 ff.);

(c)Implementation and progress of the National Strategy for Improving the Situation of the Roma in all spheres and results of evaluations by the National Agency for Roma (CERD/C/304/Add.85, para. 15; CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 34, 123 ff., 130);

(d)Implementation of existing initiatives to ensure social inclusion of members of minorities and their equal footing with the rest of the population, in particular regarding the identified priorities of the National Strategy for Improving the Situation of the Roma (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 34, 124 ff.);

(e)Access to housing and measures to address cases of geographical residential isolation (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 141, 316, 319 ff.);

(f)Information on measures to counter discrimination in access to employment and results of the National Action Plan for Employment (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 139, 285, 286 ff.);

(g)Information on the efforts to decrease the resistance of certain local authorities to use minority languages and to increase the institutional recruitment of members of the Roma community with a view to fostering intercultural dialogue and understanding among public authorities and civil servants (CERD/C/304/Add.85 para. 17; CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 438 ff.);

(h)The results of awareness-raising activities and human rights education promoting multicultural dialogue aimed at the public at large and information on any programmes of support to the culture of national and ethnic minorities, in particular the Roma (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 432 ff.);

(i)The impact of specific human rights education and training programmes to public officials, among others, law enforcement officials, members of the judiciary, teachers, social workers, and health personnel, on entrenched discriminatory attitudes and perceptions (CERD/C/ROU/16-19 paras. 453 ff.).

4.Racist speech, inflammatory statements by public officials, the harassment of certain groups (art. 4):

(a)The extent to which existing legislation prohibiting all forms of racial discrimination has been applied to counter racist propaganda, organizations and activities, including in the mass media, sports, politics and government officials, and on the Internet (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 187 ff.);

(b)Measures carried out to prevent and counteract inflammatory statements by public authorities, hate speech, the harassment of certain groups (including Jews, Roma and other minorities) (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, para. 207 ff.).

5.Responsibilities with regard to non-citizens, in particular in their equal enjoyment before the law of civil, economic, social and cultural rights (arts. 2 and 5):

(a)State protection of asylum-seekers and refugees (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 145 ff.);

(b)Measures, including legislative provisions, to address reported instances of exploitation of foreign workers by some employers (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 148 ff.).

6.The right to equal participation in cultural activities of minorities (art. 5)

(a)Examples of the programmes carried out to recognize and promote the cultural rights of different national minorities and progress in the implementation of such initiatives (CERD/C/ROU/16-19, paras. 40, 89, 456 ff.).