Print
See related documents
Resolution 1760 (2010) Final version
Recent rise in national security discourse in Europe: the case of Roma
1. The Parliamentary Assembly is appalled
that, just a few weeks after it adopted Resolution 1740 (2010) on the situation
of Roma in Europe and relevant activities of the Council of Europe,
calling on member states to improve the situation of Roma and ensure
the full respect of their fundamental rights, politicians in several Council
of Europe member states have resorted to anti-Roma rhetoric, associating
the Roma with crime and trafficking. This has led to the toughening
of security policies and measures directly targeting the Roma, such as
the dismantling of their settlements and waves of repatriation of
Roma migrants to their countries of origin.
2. The Assembly shares the concerns expressed on this occasion
by its President, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
and the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI),
the United Nations, the European Union and other international organisations,
as well as by human rights defenders and the media. It notes in
this respect that the European Commission is currently assessing compliance
with European Union law by several European Union member states.
3. For its part, the Assembly is particularly worried that public
security is taking an increasingly prominent place in political
debates, notably as a consequence of the economic crisis, rising
unemployment and higher levels of crime, and security discourse
is increasingly used in conjunction with discriminatory language
which tends to link insecurity with certain ethnic communities,
including migrants, using them as scapegoats, as has been the case
recently with Roma.
4. The Assembly notes that European countries which offer better
living conditions and have more generous social protection systems
attract migrants from countries in a less favourable situation,
sometimes putting pressure on the social institutions of the states
concerned.
5. The Assembly notes that while a community should obviously
not be singled out for opprobrium, but should be helped, there is
no point in denying the problems, as this would play into the hands
of extremism. The underlying causes of the marginalisation of Roma
should therefore be addressed.
6. The Assembly notes that European Union funding is not used
as well as it might be and that it should be used more effectively
in support of Roma or, if that proves impossible, redeployed in
the host countries.
7. While mainstream parties have long failed to anticipate or
face the challenges of public order and personal security, extremist
populist parties have sought to capitalise on society’s security
concerns by simply equating immigration with crime and insecurity.
8. The Assembly is particularly concerned about a dual trend
which is appearing in Europe: on the one hand, extreme right-wing
parties are being elected into national parliaments in growing numbers;
on the other, mainstream parties, in an attempt to detract their
voters from turning to far-right parties and regain popular support,
are borrowing some of the radical, xenophobic and discriminatory
language of extremist parties.
9. Whilst the Assembly acknowledges that, faced with a surge
in criminality, authorities in many Council of Europe member states
feel obliged to strengthen policies aimed at protecting public order
and personal security for all people living within their territory,
it stresses that a clear distinction must be made in political discourse
between individuals who have committed crimes and entire groups
of people, such as the Roma or any other minority or migrant group.
10. The Assembly strongly condemns the use of language stigmatising
Roma or any other minority or migrant group as racist and xenophobic,
and unacceptable in a democracy. The Assembly attaches the utmost importance
to freedom of expression, inter alia in
political debates on immigration. However, all forms of racial or
ethnic discrimination are unacceptable. As the European Court of
Human Rights (the Court) has pointed out, freedom of expression
can legitimately be restricted in the case of statements which are
liable to prompt a feeling of rejection and hostility towards a
given community, in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 2, of
the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5).
11. Politicians have a special responsibility to eliminate negative
stereotyping or stigmatisation of any minority or migrant group
from political discourse. They should promote a message of non-discrimination, tolerance
and respect for people from different backgrounds.
12. Therefore, the Assembly reaffirms the Council of Europe standards
and policy guidelines applicable to political discourse contained, inter alia, in the case law of the
Court, the Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R (97) 20 on
“hate speech”, the ECRI general policy recommendations and its 2005 Declaration
on the use of racist, antisemitic and xenophobic elements in political
discourse, the recommendations by the Commissioner for Human Rights,
as well as related documents of the European Commission for Democracy
through Law (Venice Commission), and its own Resolution 1345 (2003) on racist, xenophobic
and intolerant discourse in politics and Resolution 1754 (2010) on the fight
against extremism: achievements, deficiencies and failures. The
Assembly therefore calls on:
12.1. the
Council of Europe member states to:
12.1.1. sign and ratify
or otherwise endorse, if they have not already done so, as well
as effectively implement in their national law and practice, the
Council of Europe legal instruments and standards, guidelines and
policies relating to the prohibition and prevention of hate speech and
discrimination, including the Framework Convention for the Protection
of National Minorities (ETS No. 157) and the European Charter for
Regional and Minority Languages (ETS No. 148);
12.1.2. enforce national legislation on hate speech and discrimination;
12.1.3. ensure full compliance with human rights standards and
the principles of democracy and the rule of law when devising and
implementing policies aimed at protecting public order and personal
security for all people living within their territory, including
the principles of non-discrimination and proportionality;
12.2. public authorities and public institutions at national,
regional and local levels, as well as officials to:
12.2.1. refrain
from statements, in particular through the media, which may reasonably
be understood as hate speech, or as speech likely to produce the
effect of legitimising, spreading or promoting racial hatred, xenophobia,
or other forms of discrimination or hatred based on intolerance;
12.2.2. publicly condemn and refute such statements whenever they
occur;
12.2.3. where expulsion is concerned, apply a strict interpretation
of the “breach of public order” justification, as frequently used
by the authorities when ordering expulsions, in accordance with the
relevant case law of the Court.
13. The Assembly reiterates the importance of theCharter of European Political Parties
for a Non-Racist Society, signed by its President and the President
of the European Parliament in 2003, and urges political parties,
political forces and political and public figures in member states,
international groupings of political parties and its own members
to commit themselves to:
13.1. adhering
to and actively implementing and promoting the principles contained
in the charter;
13.2. actively contributing to the fight against any attempt
to stigmatise and incite feelings of hostility towards any individual
or group of people on the basis of their race, ethnic origin, nationality,
religious beliefs or social origin;
13.3. combating any action or language likely to reinforce fears
and tensions between groups from different racial, ethnic, national,
religious or social backgrounds;
13.4. dealing responsibly and fairly with sensitive topics relating
to such groups;
13.5. refraining from using racist, xenophobic, aggressive nationalistic,
ethnocentric or any other discriminatory discourse, or pursuing
such political agendas, and dealing firmly with any racist sentiments
and behaviour within their own ranks.
14. Convinced of the particular responsibility incumbent upon
the media, the Assembly calls on them to:
14.1. refrain from disseminating messages which might feed animosity
towards individuals or groups of people belonging to an ethnic,
national, cultural, linguistic or religious community or minority,
or towards migrants, refugees, asylum seekers or people of immigrant
origin;
14.2. avoid, when reporting on social or crime problems, selective
mention of ethnic or national origin, or the fact that those involved
belong to a religious, cultural or linguistic community or minority;
14.3. refrain from stirring up tensions between local Roma and
Traveller communities and Roma migrants.
15. Reaffirming its Resolution
1740 (2010) and Recommendation
1924 (2010) on the situation of Roma in Europe and relevant
activities of the Council of Europe, adopted in June 2010, the Assembly:
15.1. welcomes and supports the initiative
by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to call a high-level
meeting to agree measures to improve the situation of Roma throughout
Europe as a starting point for a joint effort by the European institutions
and the member states to tackle the matter in a sustainable and
constructive manner;
15.2. expresses its readiness to contribute to the success of
this high-level meeting by bringing in its own experience of dealing
with issues relating to the Roma and promoting the implementation
of any adopted decisions;
15.3. in terms of expulsions, calls on the member states to
fully comply with their obligations – including of a procedural
nature – under the European Convention on Human Rights and the relevant
case law of the Court, to refrain from conducting disguised collective
expulsions and, in accordance with the recommendations of the Council
of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, to refrain from returning Roma
to Kosovo until it can be established that such returns can be undertaken
with full regard to the safety and prospective living conditions
of returnees;
15.4. encourages member states to make greater use of the European
Social Fund to integrate Roma, and of the project loans granted
by the Council of Europe Development Bank, which have already helped fund
projects aimed at integrating Roma migrants both in member states
and in other countries with significant Roma populations;
15.5. invites the Secretary General of the Council of Europe
to inform the Assembly, at the earliest possible opportunity, about
the outcome of the high-level meeting;
15.6. resolves to continue to monitor carefully the situation
of Roma in Europe, also in the light of the outcome of the high-level
meeting, and, in this context, to take up the issue of Roma movement
and migration in Europe, together with policies and practice for
the return of Roma to their countries of origin.