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 President of the government of Spain
Hose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero
Having in mind that 2nd Roma Summit will be held in Cordoba in
Spain, I am sending to you our declaration ahead of World Romany Diaspora, and
I hope that it will help in defining European policy for Roma.
PROPOSAL OF DECLARATION OF
WORLD ROMANY DIASPORA ABOUT THE RIGHT OF ROMA ON POLITICAL AND NATIONAL
EQUALITY, AS A STARTING DOCUMENT FOR THE CREATION OF EUROPEAN ROMA POLICY
Starting from the:
Declaration of OUN about the rights of members of national, ethnical,
religious and lingual minorities from 18th December 1999, and
a fact
that in Europe currently live around 15.000.000 members of Romany
community;
With wish,
to develop and realize principles from the UN's Charter, Universal
declaration about human rights, Convention about prevention and
abolition of
genocide's crimes, International convention about abolition of all forms
of
racial discrimination, International pact about citizen's and political
rights,
International pact about economic, social and political rights,
Declaration
about abolition of all forms of intolerances and discrimination based on
the
religion or believes, Convention about rights of children and other
relevant
international instruments which have been adopted on the global or
regional
level or those concluded between individual countries members of the UN,
European Convention about human rights (with addition of Protocol nr.
11), as
well to create our future by ourselves and to confirm that all people
are equal
and same, regardless their religion, gender, race or nation,
Inspired with provisions of clause 27 of International pact about
citizen's
and political rights in regard of the rights of members of ethnical,
religious
or lingual minorities, final documents of KEBS / Helsinki 1975/ and
conferences
which, while continuing to further principles of KEBS develop individual
rights
and rights of national collectives;
Believed,
that fundamental rights of every man will be realized and that
dignity and
values of human personality represent the greatest democratic legatees,
and by
that it will be related also to the members of Romany national minority
across
the world, with appliance of OUN's Charter and decisions of all other
European
and international organizations in the area of human rights and freedoms
- as a
president of the World Romany Diaspora and independent expert for Romany
issue
I propose that on the 2nd Roma Summit which will be held in
Cordoba
on 8th and 9th April in Spain my proposal of
document for
European Roma policy become starting document for creation of the Romany
policy
about rights on political and national equality. I've determined basic
objectives in Declaration by adjusting them with the OUN's Strategy and
proposed policy of Council of Europe from the Summit about Roma
integration
which has been held in Brussels on 16th September 2008.
I
Roma are Indian nation, autochthon on the territory of south-eastern
and
western Europe and in other parts of the world, with all signs which
make them
a special national entity. Roma have its history, culture, religion,
faith,
tradition, literature, its language, its way of life, nutrition, its
mentality,
national heritage, i.e. Roma have its past, its presence and its future,
as
well as other nations in Europe.
II
Today, in
many
constitutions of countries in south-eastern and western Europe haven't
been
established status of national minority and by that have been deprived
possibility of realization political and national rights which belong to
them
as a nation in sociologic sense.
III
Roma have right on solution of its status in countries of
south-eastern and
western Europe, in which they wish and tend to maintain and develop good
and
friendly relations and cooperation with nations in existing countries
and its
national institutions, as well with all other citizens.
IV
For sake of creation of conditions for its biologic existence and
common
development t and preserve of national identity, Romany nation has right
on
realization and development of its national, cultural, religious,
educational,
financial, political and other institutions, associations, institutes
and
organizations, and its financing from the state's budget.
V
Romany nation is against the war and usage of force as
a resource for solving conflicts and intruding political solutions. Roma
want
to solve its status in south-eastern and western Europe with dialogue,
on a
peaceful way and with democratic resources, in accord with existing
international regulations, practices of democratic countries of Europe
and
world, with adequate international guarantees.
VI
Roman y nation sees new south-eastern Europe as a
democratic creation, established on the modern civilization's flows and
experiences of developed countries, with two-part parliament (Council of
nation
and Council of national minorities).
VII
Romany nation do not accept unequal and undefined
position, regard it as unsustainable and requests from all political
subjects
from south-eastern Europe and most-important European institutions to
secure
full political and national equality to Romany nation in the process of
defining constitutional-legally relations between nations and national
minorities.
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF ROMANY NATIONAL MINORITIES
SHOULD BE:
-
Right on protection which is provided
by the state: from
prosecution, violent evictions or dislocations, as well on protection
from the
policy which would aspire to the violent changes of national and
ethnical
composition of population in damage of minority and its members;
-
Right on special legal mechanisms against legal provisions with whom
would
be discriminated minority or its members, and especially against those
provisions with whom would be maintained or abolished their acquired
rights;
-
Right on affiliation of members into social and political organizations
and
associations;
-
Right to be represented in all bodies of authority, comparatively to its
number in specific area;
-
Right on establishing radio and television organizations, as well as
right
on establishing news-publishing institutions;
-
Right on expression, preserve, development and conveyance of national,
ethnical, cultural, religious and lingual specialty as a part of
tradition;
-
Right on establishing special cultural, artistic and scientific
institutions and associations, including right on establishing
foundations for
material support for these institutions and associations;
-
Right on emphasis of name of place and other captions on
Romany language in the areas in which in greater
number live members of our national minority;
-
Right to use our language and letter in official usage in the areas in
which in greater number live members of our national minority;
-
Right on usage and emphasis of traditional signs and symbols;
-
Right on notation and celebration of significant dates, events and
persons
from its tradition and history;
-
Right on establishing and maintaining relations with minority's
communities
in other countries;
-
Right on financial support from side of state and right on collecting
financial resources from domestic and foreign organizations,
foundations, legal
and individual persons.
Besides fundamental human rights, there have to
be settled fundamental rights of members of our national minority, for
sake of
their positive discrimination:
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF MEMBERS OF NATIONAL
MINORITY, AS AN INDIVIDUAL, SHOULD BE:
-
Right on legal equality with other citizens;
-
Right on national, ethnical, cultural and religious specialty and
expression
about such specialty, which is personal right of citizens and matter of
free
choice, and each violation of this right should be regarded as a
punishable
act;
-
Right of each individual is to be completely and fairly informed on
mother
language, including right on expressing, receiving, sending and exchange
of
information through the press and other resources of public informing.
To this
right also corresponds duty of the state to in programs of radio and
television
whom it founded provide informative content on the language of minority;
-
Right on free usage of its language. They have right to develop its
language and nurse its lingual culture through the lingual
standardization
(creation of orthography, grammar, dictionaries and other manuals,
expert's
terminology, etc) and through the translation of literature's, expert's,
publicist's and other works;
-
Right on free choice and using its name and name of its children, as
well
to inscribe those names into the mother books and personal documents on
its
language and according to the rules of that language;
-
Right on education on mother language or representation of its language
in
education, and country is obligated to manage enjoy of this right
depending of
number of pupils and financial possibilities. If lessons aren't
performed on
the language of our national
minority , then to us as
members of that minority must be enabled to explore its language and
elements
of its history and culture as a separate tuition's subjects.
OBLIGATIONS OF COUNTRIES
While claiming that Roma across the Europe suffer persisting
prejudges,
that they are victims of racism which is
deeply rooted
in society, that they are target of sometimes violent evincing of racism
and
intolerance, and that its basic rights are regularly violated or
jeopardized;
Also while claiming that persistent prejudges against Roma lead
towards
their discrimination in man y areas of social and
economic life, and that such form of discrimination is a main factor in
the
process of social exclusion which is hitting many Roma;
As a president of the World Romany Diaspora and independent expert
for
Romany issue who is assured that improvement of principles of tolerance
is a
guarantee of preserving of open and pluralistic societies, which enables
peaceful coexistence;
I recommend to the governments of countries from south-eastern and
central
Europe following:
-
To sign and ratify relevant international legal instruments in the area
of
suppressing racisms, xenophobia, anti-tziganisms and intolerance, and
especially Framework Convention for protection of national minorities
and
European Charter about regional or minority's languages;
-
To secure that adequate legislations is fighting against discrimination
as
such, as well against discriminator's practices, and that in that sense
special
provisions should be brought into the citizen's right, especially on the
field
of employment, habitation and education;
-
To proclaim as illegal any discrimination which is performed from side
of
state's authority during perform of its obligations;
-
To ensure that there is secured adequate legal assistance to Roma who
have
been victims of discrimination and who want to initiate a legal
procedure;
-
To undertake required measures so that full and quick realization of
justice could be ensured in the cases which are related to the violation
of
fundamental rights of Roma;
-
To especially ensure that non-punishment isn't tolerated in any measure
related to the offences executed against Roma and that this should be
put on
knowledge for wide publicity;
-
To undertake necessary steps to be ensured that rules which are referred
to
de jure and de facto accessibility of citizenship and
right on
asylum be created and realized so that they don't lead towards special
discrimination of Roma;
-
To adopt and realize national strategies and programs and evince firm
political will and normal leadership in view of improvement of position
of Roma
and their protection against discrimination from side of state's bodies,
as
well from any person or organization;
-
To undertake all necessary measures so that any form of discrimination
against immigrants or asylum seekers of Romany origin could be avoided;
-
To strive to, while encouraging true dialogue, also consult other
relevant
resources, improve relations between Romany communities and non-Romany
communities, especially on the local level, for sake of promotion of
tolerance
and surpass of prejudges and negative stereotypes from both sides, then
securing that everybody enjoy completely human rights and freedoms;
-
To admit genocide' crime committed during the World War II against
Romany
community and perform war reparation to Romany community;
-
To undertake necessary measures, in cooperation with civil society, and
initiate projects of development of political culture and education of
population in a whole in the spirit of non-discrimination, respect of
others
and tolerance, and especially towards Roma;
-
To undertake special and concrete measures so that to the members of
communities organized on the basis of origins could be guaranteed right
on
participation on elections, voting and becoming candidate on the basis
of equal
and universal right of vote, as well the right to be properly
represented in
the government and legislative bodies;
-
To organize programs of training so that political abilities for
creation
of policy and public management of officials and political
representatives who
belong to the minorities organized on the basis of origins could be
improved;
-
To decisively fight against all forms of school segregation of Romany
children and to ensure effective enjoy of equal access to education;
-
To undertake all necessary legislative, administrative and judicial
measures for creation of prosperous conditions which enable to
minorities to
express its identity, develop its education, culture, language,
tradition and
habits;
-
Inspired with provisions from clause 27 of International pact about
citizen's and political rights related to the members of ethnical,
religious or
lingual minorities: "In countries in which exist ethnical, religious or
lingual
minorities, for them who belong to those minorities mustn't be took off
right
to enjoy in its culture, confess and practice its religion and use its
language, in community with other members of their group";
-
To pay special attention to the position of Romany women, who are often
exposed to double discrimination, both as women and Romanes;
-
To introduce into the educational programs of all schools informing
about
history and culture of Roma and to provide to teachers program of
training
about this subject;
-
To develop measures of strengthening so that open pluralistic society
could
be preserved and strengthened for sake of peaceful coexistence;
-
For sake of economic strengthening of Romany nation, association of
citizens
World Romany Diaspora suggests that as a special advisory body should be
established UNION OF ROMANY EMPLOYERS, which will be authorized to ask
from
MMF, World Bank, OUN's bodies, EU and relevant agencies privileges for
Romany
employers in the area of customs, taxes and other fields, by relieving
custom's
and tax's obligations, and especially in the case of employing greater
number
of members of Romany nation;
-
This body will be authorized to negotiate and affirm more affordable
conditions for employers of Romany nation with Economic chambers of
countries
members of European Union and all other countries, especially in the
area of
loans for small and medium companies, then signing so-called grace
periods of
at least one year, then custom's and tax's relieves with possibility of
freeing
of paying taxis and realization of rights in accord with internal
legislation
during the opening of new working places and employing till then
unemployed
persons;
-
To support activities of nongovernment organizations, which play
significant role in the fight against racism and intolerance towards
Roma, an
which especially secure to them required legal assistance;
-
To encourage Romany organizations to play more significant role for sake
of
strengthening citizenship's society.
POLICY OF DOUBLE STANDARDS
Objective analysis very easily reveals that while on a different ways
very
actively plays role in solving problems of protection of minorities in
"remaining world", European Union at the same time flee from confronting
with
that issue when it is about its countries members. With other words,
besides
some positive moves, especially in the field of fight against
discrimination,
European Union still isn't willing to respect by itself what it require
from
others, and also from its future members.
Related to that, in literature is with full right pointed that what
we can
see is a policy of double standards. In confirmation of that could be
specified
the fact that one of important elements which are taken into the
consideration
during evaluation countries candidates for reception into the European
Union is
review about how countries apply Framework Convention of Council of
Europe
about minority's protection, while, from the other side, actually 5
members of
EU haven't even ratified that agreement (Netherland, Belgium, Luxemburg,
France
and Greece).
Not only independent experts, yet competent international
nongovernment
organizations which are dealing with minority's protection, even high
commissar
of OSCE for national minorities himself, notice and publicly expose the
fact
that it is about double standards, and especially necessity that
requiring
solutions in protection of minorities should be applied to all members
of
European Union.
Hope remains that, like many times till now, boomerang effect will be
initiated, and that (better sooner than later) protection of minorities
will
become part of internal policy and rights of European Union.
Annotation: we also sent this declaration to:
1. Ban Ki-moon, General Secretary
of UN,
Permanent members of Council
of security of UN:
- Barack
Obama, president of USA;
- Dmitrij
Anatoljevich Medvedev, president of Russian Federation;
- Hu
Jintao, president of China;
- Robert
Walpole, first president of the government of United Kingdom;
- Nikolas
Sarkozi, president of France.
European officials:
- Mevlüt
Çavusoglu, president of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of
Europe;
- Thorbjorn
Jagland, General Secretary of European Parliament;
- Jerzy
Buzek, president of the European Parliament;
- Thomas
Hammarberg, commissar for human rights of Council of Europe;
- Gabriella
Habtom, general secretary of Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination.
International
organizations:
-
European Roma Information Office (ERIO);
-
European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC);
-
Open Society Institute (OSI);
-
Project on Ethnic Relations (PER);
-
European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR);
-
Steering Committee for Education (CDED);
-
Committee of Experts on Issues relating to the Protection of
National Minorities (DH-MIN);
-
Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of
National Minorities;
-
Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority
Languages;
-
International Organization for Migration (IOM);
-
Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe / Office for
Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR);
-
United Nations Development Program (UNDP);
-
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR);
-
World Bank.
Bajram Haliti, president of the World Romany
Diaspora
and independent expert for Romany issue
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