ENAR Weekly Mail 5

29 July 2005

NEWS FROM ENAR MEMBERS

· Spain: Transposition of the Race Directive

SOS Racism (member of ENAR) and Amnesty International in Spain issued a public statement on the occasion of the anniversary of the transposition of the Race Directive 43/2000. It mainly deplores the fact that two years down the line, the main proposals, like the creation of a specialized body against racism, still have not been realised.

Read the statement (Spanish only)

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE EU

· Europe reacts to terror threat

Across Europe and internationally, governments are stepping up security in the wake of the continuing spate of attacks in London. Read more in English // in French

· UK: Refugees forced to wait 5 years for long-term residence

From 30 August the UK will cease to grant refugees long-term residence (“indefinite leave to remain”) immediately upon recognition. In a reversal of a policy introduced only in 1998, refugees will instead be issued initially with five-year residence permits. During that period they will face the possibility of their permission to stay being revoked, if there is a significant and non-temporary change in conditions in the country of origin. The British Refugee Council (BRC) responded that this constituted a step backwards. Read the UK government’s announcement and the BRC response.

NEWS FROM THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION (EC)

· European Transparency Initiative

NGOs campaigning for lobbying information to be disclosed in an electronic register received support from Anti-Fraud Commissioner Siim Kallas on 19 July. He said discussions now focus on whether to make registration mandatory or not.

NEWS FROM OTHER ORGANISATIONS

· ECRE recommendations to the UK Presidency

On 7 July ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles) published "Putting refugee protection at the heart of the Hague Programme", a memorandum to the UK Presidency. ECRE makes seven specific recommendations to the UK on how to take forward the Hague Programme agenda on refugee and asylum policy in a way that will lead to the development of a coherent European asylum system that respects refugees' human rights and dignity.

The memorandum is available on ECRE’s website.

· No to a Europe of expulsions! No to return on chartered flights!

On 21 July the French Ligue des Droits de l'Homme and a number of other French organisations issued a joint statement, after a meeting of the G5 decided to joint efforts for the repatriation of illegal immigrants. Read the statement (French only)

· Study on Violence against Indigenous Women

The International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI) is serving on a Task Force made up of United Nations entities and NGOs charged with providing input into the in-depth study on all forms of violence against women being conducted by Secretary-General Kofi Annan through the Division for the Advancement of Women. The study will be examining the causes, consequences and costs of violence against women, and identifying examples of good practices in legislation, policies, and programmes to prevent and eliminate violence against women.

For more information, contact Mónica Alemán, FIMI Coordinator at fimi@madre.org

· The use and abuse of language analysis in asylum cases

The recent practice of language analysis in asylum cases has met with criticism from concerned professionals. Linguists have responded with a set of professional guidelines with the aim of preventing potential abuses of this method of analysis.

ROMA ISSUES

· Targeting and mainstreaming the integration of Roma at the EU and European level

The June edition of the EUMC (European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia) quarterly magazine Equal Voices has just been published and focuses on policy-making for Roma in the European Union. The priority given to Roma in this issue is reflective of the concern and focus in the overall work of the EUMC on the issues affecting Roma and Travellers throughout the European Union.

One of the articles is an interview with the two ethnic Romani MEPs, Livia Jaroka and Viktoria Mohacsi (both from Hungary), who talk about the challenges and issues facing the Roma people throughout Europe.

Read the magazine (English only)

· Czech Republic: Labour market should change along with subsistence level

The head of Dzeno Association Ivan Vesely eclared in an interview that Romani associations in the Czech Republic believe that the change in the subsistence level approved by the government on 20 July which would motive the people to actively look for jobs and to accept even less paid work is a step in the right direction.

· CEDAW hears concerns about situation of Romani women in Macedonia

The Roma Centre of Skopje (RCS), the European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) and the Network Women’s Program Roma Women Initiative (NWP/RWI) have jointly prepared a submission to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), highlighting major human rights issues facing Romani women in Macedonia, as CEDAW is to review Macedonia’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The 10-page submission presents the results of new research indicating high levels of rights deprivation and multiple discrimination against Romani women in Macedonia. It also proposes areas in which CEDAW may seek further information from the Macedonian government. Read more (English only)

· Roma benefit from community health program in Navarre (Spain)

On 26 July, the Spanish newspaper El Pais featured an article on the success of a direct intervention program for Roma. The Navarre Community Health Program for Roma is a network of public health officials and mediators working in Roma communities with more than 20 families. The award-winning program aims at improving the lives of Roma in Navarre (North of Spain), and has had positive results.

Read more: in English (Dzeno website) // in Spanish (El Pais article)

· German state recognizes Roma as national minority

The German state of Rhineland Palatinate signed an agreement on 25 July recognizing German Sinti and Roma as a national minority. They are the first German state to officially recognize the Romani language and culture.

CONFERENCES & MEETINGS

· Conference: Inclusion and Exclusion: 2005

Date and venue: 10 November 2005, King’s College, London (UK)

The Race Equality Unit (REU), a member of ENAR, and the Social Services Research Group (SSRG) are organising their second annual conference exploring the messages for policy and practice from research on racism and ethnicity. Details about the event itself, as well as a call for papers and information as to how to submit a paper can be downloaded from www.reu.org.uk or www.ssrg.org.uk

For further information contact Jabeer Butt of the REU: jabeer@reunet.demon.co.uk

PUBLICATIONS

· UK Government’s Human Rights Annual Report 2005

This 8^th annual human rights report covers the period from September 2004 – end June 2005 and provides an overview of the main challenges to human rights around the world and explains the UK Government’s activities and policies to address those challenges. It is available for download (English only).

Roma organization Dzeno reacted stating that although the report denounces anti-Roma discrimination throughout Europe, it omits many important details and fails to mention such major factors as the tragic situation of Roma refugees in Kosovo, the problems of Roma in countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Slovak Republic, as well as the growing problem with evictions in the UK itself. Read Dzeno’s article.

· Local Authorities and the Fight against Homelessness

Local authorities are often in a strong position to bring together the different public and private actors that need to work in partnership in order to provide effective responses to homelessness. The Summer edition of the FEANTSA (European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless magazine is dedicated to exploring local authority involvement in the fight against homelessness.

Read the magazine in English // in French

If you wish to subscribe to the tri-annual FEANTSA Magazine, write to Dearbhal Murphy, dearbhal.murphy@feantsa.org