The Council of Europe and Roma: 40 years of action

Collectif

Description

The Council of Europe, after 40 years of activities with Roma, is intensifying its commitment to monitoring and improving their situation and to involving their representatives in the creation of the policies which concern them.This publication, a reference work and an analysis intended to further knowledge and inspire reflection on the issues, presents a summary of the relevant adopted texts and activities by placing them in a historical perspective. The facts, all too often isolated, must be given greater visibility to increase their legibility - beyond a simple summary - and foster a long-term vision.Devised to be useful to both political decision makers and to administrative representatives - at European, national and local levels - and to activists in non-governmental organisations, this work will interest everyone concerned by the situation of Roma in Europe.

Sujets

• Europe
• Council
• Sciences humaines et sociales
• Histoire

Informations

• Publié par: Conseil de l'Europe
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• EAN13: 9789287177827
• Langue: English

Extrait

Contents
Background
1. The Council of Europe’s terminological glossary
2. The number of Roma and Travellers in Europe
3. The Roma in Europe: seven centuries of history
4. The Parliamentary Assembly: a driving force since 1969
5. The Committee of Ministers on Roma since 1975
6. The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe and Roma since 1981
7. The impact of the two fundamental treaties on minority languages and protection of national minorities
8. Co-ordination and stronger follow-up to action on Roma
9. The Education of Roma Children in Europe project: implementing a Committee of Ministers recommendation
10. Consolidating the approach through law
11. Beyond prejudice to culture and partnership
12. Issues for the future
Appendices
The Council of Europe and Roma: references to the principal texts and key dates
Testimonials from former and current MG-S-ROM members
The Council of Europe and Roma: 40 years of action
Jean-Pierre Liégeois

in co-operation with the Roma and Travellers Division of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe Publishing
French edition:
Le Conseil de l’Europe et les Roms : 40 ans d’action

ISBN 978-92-871-6944-0


The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Council of Europe.


All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic (CD-Rom, Internet, etc.) or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the Directorate of Communication (F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex or [e-mail] ).

Cover design: SPDP, Council of Europe
Layout: Jouve, Paris

Council of Europe Publishing
F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex
http://book.coe.int

ISBN 978-92-871-7686-8
© Council of Europe, September 2012
Printed at the Council of Europe
Tribute to Claudio Marta,
Italian member of the Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Roma and Travellers (MG-S-ROM) from 1996 to 2008 and vice-chair of that committee in 2004


Claudio loved the Roma; indeed, some of them were his childhood friends. He loved them, not as the subject of any academic study but as his brothers and sisters.
His contribution to the work of the Council of Europe over nearly 10 years was to bring to the discussions and projects that human dimension without which everything is reduced to cold administrative action.
A man’s greatness is not measured solely by his knowledge – and Claudio possessed immense knowledge – but above all by the courage of his convictions, his contempt for compromise, the sincerity of his ideas and the simplicity of his human relationships.
The Claudio we knew had that greatness of soul, and that is why we shall remember him.
Claudio is not dead: he has merely passed through to the other side of the mirror. We cannot see him, but he sees us and will continue to encourage us and guide us in our work.
Henry Scicluna Council of Europe Co-ordinator for Activities concerning Roma and Travellers
Background
The Council of Europe is the oldest of the European institutions, having been created in 1949 by the 10 founding states. In 2009, it celebrated its 60th anniversary. The year 2009 also marked an important stage in activities relating to Roma: 1 40 years earlier, in 1969, the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (then known as the “Consultative Assembly”) adopted its first text on Roma.
Among many other activities let us merely note that:
– in 1995, 15 years earlier, an intergovernmental committee was set up to oversee Roma questions;
– in 2005, five years earlier, the European Roma and Travellers Forum (ERTF) was established and the Decade of Roma Inclusion, a major project in which the Council of Europe plays an important part, was launched.
The year 2010 was also an important milestone.
An integrated approach
Today, after some 40 years of discussion and work, the Council of Europe’s various bodies are strengthening their commitment in fields which have practical repercussions for monitoring and improving the situation of Roma communities, and for the involvement of their representatives in the framing of policies relating to them. This action derives from the implementation of instruments adopted explicitly on Roma and from that of texts concerning minorities or minority languages, and also the fight against discrimination. These all have a major impact on Roma, and it will be helpful to present an overview.
Institutional memory is lacking: over the years people and programmes change, and projects launched are limited in duration and give way to others. So it is important to propose an overall approach and give historical depth to the work that has been accomplished. It is crucial to give visibility to facts which are often isolated or lost in a mass of events, and to make them more readily understandable so that a forward-looking view may be obtained, over and above a mere stocktaking exercise. Such a view makes it easier to understand the present and define suitable guidelines for future work.
This background will afford a clearer historical grasp of the origin and development of the Council of Europe’s activities, a fuller picture of the fields which have been examined, and an updated view of the subjects which deserve further action.
A source of inspiration
More broadly, Roma community issues are able to shed useful light on institutional dynamics, and provide inspiration at a time when the Council of Europe is considering how to reorganise its activities. Roma are at the crossroads of priorities and sensitivities in the 21st century: European citizens for centuries, they represent, with a population of 10 to 12 million, the largest of all its minorities. They live against a background of strong cultural dynamism set in 1 000 years of history, but they also suffer the most discrimination and are the victims of processes of exclusion, usually in situations of poverty. These characteristics and sensitivities all represent priority areas for the Council of Europe – minorities, migrations, discrimination, exclusion, poverty – and relate to its fundamental values in the spheres of culture, education, social cohesion and human rights.
So this study sets out to be, for all partners concerned, an instrument of knowledge and reflection, of reference and analysis, providing immediate access to information which is often misunderstood, generally piecemeal and difficult to find. It will be useful not only to policy makers and those with administrative responsibility, whether at European, national or local level, but also to anyone active in non-governmental organisations (NGOs). However, it is not a mere catalogue of activities, for that would not make the movement which has evolved over the past four decades comprehensible. It is a working tool, with each chapter including references to the texts mentioned and the publications available, often in several languages, on the Council of Europe’s website and those produced in member states. It also contains short extracts from texts, giving a sense of their character and a better understanding of the genesis and adoption of the policies leading to and guiding the action advocated. Lastly, the ability to assess the hierarchy and institutional weight of texts adopted allows all partners involved to make better use of them in the context of their own work as bases for action, negotiating tools and a source of suggestions. A knowledge of the major action taken in the fields of education, language and culture, as well as the measures taken against prejudice, makes it possible to draw on the experience acquired and, by engaging in that action, to benefit from its dynamism.
Structure of the study
The first step was to define the subject. The first chapter therefore provides a glossary of the terms employed to designate all or part of the groups concerned. The glossary shows that these groups are varied, but at the same time united in their diversity. It reveals the usage of terminology which 9 Background constitutes administrative designations or categorisations, and also the way in which terms change over time, in the Council of Europe as elsewhere. This is followed by a table listing estimated Roma populations in the member states, ending with a historical account of their centuries-old presence within Europe.
The chapters which follow describe the engagement of Council of Europe bodies with the Roma. In covering institutional dynamics a chronological account has been employed, starting with the Parliamentary Assembly’s adoption of its first text in 1969, and moving on to statements from the Committee of Ministers and then the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. After a discussion of the importance to Roma of conventions on minorities or minority languages, there is an analysis of the establishment of specific structures and activities, and examples are given of the strategic elements in project implementation. There follows a discussion of the more systematic intervention of mechanisms relating to respect for rights. Lastly, after presenting three recent, complementary activities which are significant for Roma, the study suggests ways forward, emphasising the priorities for today and explaining why, after 40 years of the Council of Europe’s activities