Press Release
Government Forced to
Explain Housing Rights Abuses of Roma
The Greek government was forced to defend its entire policy and practice on the
housing conditions of Roma. The collective complaint against
Even during the recent Olympic Games, a score of Romani families were brutally
evicted from their settlement in Riganokampos, Patras. Their shacks were razed
to the ground by the municipality without any prior proper warning.
“
The eminent experts on the Committee were visibly impatient with the Greek
government’s responses to detailed questioning. The Government avoided replying
to the Committee’s queries on cases of forced evictions, why there are no
sufficient protections against violations of housing rights, and what concrete
measures can be taken to make sure housing programs were implemented.
Prominent Greek human rights activist Panayote Dimitras of the Greek Helsinki
Monitor (GHM) said after the hearing, “The government says it is taking action
on this issue. But in 25 of the 27 communities we are monitoring, we have seen
little or no progress.” Mr Dimitras cited the example of the Spata community
(near the Athens airport) which, under the government’s program for improving
Romani housing, had been expelled from town and relocated to the back of an
olive grove, on the top of a former waste site.
The ERRC is particularly disturbed that local governments throughout
The complaint attracted the attention of a number of other concerned parties:
In a statement to the Committee, Member of the European Parliament Livia Jaroka
said, “The conditions I have seen in Romani settlements in
Malcolm Langford, Senior Legal Officer of the Centre on Housing Rights and
Evictions (COHRE) said at the hearing, “The legal framework in
Contacts: Claude Cahn, ERRC,
Panayote
Dimitras, Greek
Malcolm
Langford, Centre on Housing Rights
& Evictions, +49 163 820 1133
The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) is an international public interest law
organisation engaging in a range of activities in the combating anti-Romani
racism and human rights abuses of Roma, in particular strategic litigation,
international advocacy, research and policy development and training of Romani
activists. For more information on the ERRC see www.errc.org.
The Greek Helsinki Monitor (GHM) is an Athens-based human rights organization
specializing inter alia on Roma rights advocacy in cooperation with Romani
communities. For more information on GHM see www.greekhelsinki.gr.
The Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions (COHRE) is an international human
rights organization committed to protecting and promoting the right to housing.
For more information on COHRE see www.cohre.org.
Proposed Conclusions in ERRC
v Greece
European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC)
Supported by:
Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions (COHRE)
Greek
2. Forced
Evictions - Ministerial Decree for Organised Relocation
3.
Non-Improvement of Housing Conditions.
6. Continuous Review of Greece
The
ERRC respectfully submits that the European Committee on Social Rights conclude
that the Government of Greece has not acted in conformity with Article 16 of
the Charter, in particular that the Government has:
1.
Carried out forced evictions of Roma in
2.
Failed to restrain local authorities from carrying out and threatening forced
evictions
3.
Failed to guarantee security of tenure to Romani occupants of houses and land
and protection from forced evictions. The government should consider providing
an executive “amnesty” for the Romani informal settlements currently existing
on state-owned land, granting title to land and property to persons factually
resident on a particular plot, and establishing a “year zero” for the purposes
of zoning and future regulation.
4. Failed to ensure that policies and laws contain
the following safeguards in relation to evictions:
(a)
Evictions only proceed
where there is a justifiable reason for doing so, in accordance with
international human rights law.
(b)
Evictions conducted for
discriminatory reasons or carried out in a discriminatory fashion are
prohibited.
(c)
Due process in
accordance with international standards is guaranteed in relation to any forced
eviction, including (i) opportunity for genuine consultation; (ii) adequate and
reasonable notice; (iii) full disclosure of information concerning the
eviction, including purpose for which land or housing will be used; (iv)
presence of government officials during eviction; (v) proper identification of
those carrying out eviction; (vi) evictions not to proceed in bad weather;
(viii) provision of legal remedies; adequate pecuniary and non-pecuniary civil
compensation as well as comprehensive criminal and administrative redress in
cases of forced evictions; and (ix) provision of legal aid where possible for
those seeking redress in courts.
(f) Evictions do not result
in individuals being rendered homeless or vulnerable to other human rights
abuses.
(g)
Adequate alternative housing, resettlement or access
to productive land is made available to those affected by evictions who are
unable to provide for themselves.
(h)
Prosecution of
officials who carry out forced evictions.
5. Failed to establish any
mechanisms to prevent evictions. This would include, for example, a moratorium
on evictions and the establishment of an effective institutional framework to
prevent forced evictions of Roma. Such a framework should:
·
Establish an office – at the national level -
with adequate Roma representation in order to ensure forced evictions are not
arbitrarily or indiscriminately applied to Roma
·
Ensure that any eviction plans that relate to
Roma accommodate the unique circumstances and historical disadvantage of Roma
communities.
·
Ensure that evictions can only be carried out
after a Court examines all the circumstances of the case in accordance with
international human rights law
·
Provide that evictions can only be carried out
by a court official and a member of the national office.
6. Maintaining and enforcing
the discriminatory 1983 Ministerial Decree entitled “Sanitary provision for the
organised relocation of wandering nomads” until
7. Failed to provide adequate
reparation, including pecuniary and non-pecuniary compensation, to Roma who
suffered loss during the period that the 1983 Ministerial Decree was used by
public authorities to forcibly evict and segregate Roma and provide a
comprehensive list of where it was used.
8.
Failed to develop institutional mechanisms for ameliorating the socio-economic
effects of years of systemic discrimination against the Roma, including an
effective mechanism for monitoring and enforcing the implementation of the
plan. Such a plan should contain a clear plan of action and be developed in a
participatory manner.
9. Maintained and enforced the
Ministerial Decree of 2003, entitled the ‘Amendment of the A5/696/25.4.83
Sanitary Provision respecting the organised settlement of itinerant persons or
other provisions’ without:
(a)
Ensuring it contains the
safeguards set out in Conclusion4 above.
(b)
Providing training
in non-discrimination for municipal officials and others involved in the
implementation of the Decree.
(c)
Undertaking regular
monitoring of implementation of the Decree to ensure that no direct or indirect
discrimination occurs in the application of the Decree.
(d)
Providing swift and
readily accessible remedial measures in the event that direct or indirect
discrimination does occur in the application of the Decree.
To ensure conformity with Article 16,
the Decree would require amendment in accordance with this conclusion. Further,
it should apply to either:
(i)
all itinerants (by
abolishing article 6(3) of the Amended Decree) or
(ii) provide for a genuine and effective accommodation program for
self-identified itinerant Roma.
10.
Failed to ensure Roma, particularly those in informal settlements, have
immediate access to adequate potable water, electricity, waste removal, public
transport, roads and other public infrastructure. Roma also lack access to
education and health care.
11.
Failed to ensure that the Roma– at least half of the Roma population- have
equal access to housing and are not segregated from the rest of the Greek
population.
12. Failed to
ensure that local and national authorities carry out plans to improve the
housing conditions. The Government should urgently consider establishing a
national body to ensure the implementation of housing programs designed to
benefit the Roma. The body should allow for adequate Roma representation and be
given sufficient enforcement powers to carry out its duties.
13. Failure to
ensure that improvement programs, which involve relocation, are properly
implemented out and do not effectively result in forced eviction.
14.
Failed to enact and implement comprehensive policies designed to curb and
prevent residential and other racial segregation of Roma in
15. Failed to adopt and enforce comprehensive anti-discrimination
legislation that are enforced by an effective and independent body with
adequate resources. The law/s should and be in conformity with current European
and international standards, for example the European Council of the European
Union Directive 2000/43/EC “implementing
the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or
ethnic origin” and General Policy Recommendation No 7 of the European
Commission against Racism and Intolerance.
16. Failed to ensure
that adequate legal assistance is available to victims of discrimination and
human rights abuse by providing free, efficient and effective legal services to
indigents and members of weak groups, including Roma.
17. Failed
to conduct systematic monitoring of access of Roma and other minorities to
social and economic rights -- the right to adequate housing in particular --
and establish a mechanism for collecting and publishing disaggregated data in
these fields, in a form readily comprehensible to the wider public.
18. Failed to
effectively promote human rights. For example, the government has not:
·
Conducted any significant public information
campaigns on human rights and remedies available to victims of human rights
abuse
·
Conducted public information campaigns on human
rights in the Romani language.
·
At the highest levels, spoken out against racial
discrimination against Roma and others, and make clear that racism will not be
tolerated.
The ERRC also recommends that the Committee make the
following additional findings:
19. The Government would be assisted in fulfilling its
obligation under Article 16 if it ratifies the following international
instruments:
·
Revised European Social Charter.
·
Protocol 12 to
the European Convention on Human Rights.
·
Council of
·
European Charter
for Regional and Minority Languages, expressly recognizing Romani as a minority
language in
·
Declaration under
Article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Racial Discrimination, recognizing the competence of the Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination to hear individual complaints.
20. Due to the consistent and
long-term failure of the Government of Greece to act in conformity with Article
16, the Contracting Party should report back to the Committee within 12 months
on measures it has taken to ensure compliance with Article 16 of the Charter in
relation to the matters raised in this collective complaint.
21. The Committee should be
given an opportunity to undertake a mission to
22.
The legal costs of ERRC as they relate to this collective complaint should be
paid by the Government of Greece.