Round Table “Combating racial discrimination and intolerance in Romania”
Organisers: ECRI in co-operation with the National Council for Combating Discrimination of Romania
Objectives: provide the participants with the opportunity to discuss the follow-up to the recommendations contained in ECRI’s monitoring report on Romania published in 2014.
The round table was divided into three sessions focusing on:
- the main findings of ECRI’s report;
- legislative and institutional framework for combating racism and racial discrimination;
- ways for decreasing tensions between the majority population and ethnic minorities.
Opening statements will be made by Razvan Rusu, Director General, Department for Regional Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Christian Ahlund, Chair of ECRI, Csabe Ferenc Asztalos, President of the National Council for Combating Discrimination. ECRI’s report on Romania will be presented by Dalibor Jilek, ECRI member.
In addition to national and local authorities, the round table will bring together representatives of NGOs, as well as members of groups of concern to ECRI. This event aims at contributing positively to the national debate on combating racial discrimination and intolerance in the country.
In its 2014 report on Romania, ECRI expressed concern about issues such as: the need of strengthening training for judges, prosecutors and low-enforcement officials on the criminal legal framework aimed at fighting racism, as well as raising awareness of general public in this matter; the setting-up of a comprehensive data collection system on the application of criminal law provisions against racism and racial discrimination; the financing and empowerment of the Strategy for improving the Situation of the Roma, as well as appeasing tensions between the majority population and ethnic minorities.
