Kocáb, Pillay: Roma must receive opportunities
On 25 March 2010, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay visited Czech Minister for Human Rights Michael Kocáb in order to discuss the current situation of the Roma minority in the Czech Republic. The meeting resulted in the following conclusions:
The Roma have lived for centuries on the fringes of European society, and to a significant degree that is where they remain today. Currently they are often being pushed even further away from the mainstream of social life. In many countries, including the Czech Republic, the gulf between the Roma and the majority society has not been bridged in the past decades as many hoped it would be.
The ongoing social exclusion of the Roma is problematic from the perspective of many international human rights treaties, such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Romani children who grow up in poverty do not have the same opportunities as their majority-society peers. The situation of Romani women and girls is especially difficult, as they often face double discrimination – as members of a minority in the larger society and as women inside their own community.
Are these adverse developments caused by the irreversible structural changes in post-communist economies and the expanding knowledge gap between workers who are more qualified and those who are less qualified? Or is this because of prejudice and racial discrimination? Do some cultural traditions of the Roma themselves play a role? All of these factors definitely play a role. We can argue over which is more significant, but it is primarily necessary to seek a solution. It is obvious these developments threaten not only the Roma, but all of society.
While the Roma can certainly take more responsibility for their own fates, they must receive the opportunity to do so. Public authorities – the state administration and municipalities – have a much greater chance of kick-starting the desired changes than do non-governmental organizations, Roma or not, not to speak of those living in poverty.
We are convinced the Roma must become full-fledged citizens of the countries in which they live, with all the rights and responsibilities that entails. Public policy should be sensitive to their specific culture and experiences and should always aim to include them into the mainstream of education, employment and housing. Various populist measures which result in the Roma being driven into even deeper social exclusion do not resolve the situation, but merely exacerbate it.
Part of the solution must be thorough protections against discrimination, such as those introduced by the EU directive which was instituted into Czech law through the Anti-Discrimination Act. However, it is also necessary that there be a targeted policy for overcoming social exclusion such as that being implemented by the government’s Agency for Social Inclusion.
At the meeting, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay expressed her appreciation for the very significant work of the Czech government in protecting and advocating for human rights. She also expressed appreciation for the important role played by the Human Rights Minister’s office, in particular his personal engagement in advocating for human rights principles and Roma integration.
