ENAR Weekly Mail 10

2 September 2005

 

NEWS FROM THE ENAR SECRETARIAT

·      European Year of Equal Opportunities for All (2007)

ENAR Fact Sheet 21 was issued on 31 August and deals with the European Commission proposal for a European Year of Equal Opportunities for All (2007). Read the Fact Sheet in English / in French

Also in relation to the 2007 Year, ENAR sent Preliminary Remarks on the proposal to the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European Commission and the European Parliament. This document can be obtained from the Secretariat upon demand from Anna Visser, ENAR Policy Officer (anna@enar-eu.org).

 

 

UNITED NATIONS (UN)

·      New Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants

Jorge A. Bustamante (Mexico) was appointed as the new Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. Mr. Bustamante is a Professor of Sociology, teaching International Migration and Human Rights at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA). He was the Chairman/Rapporteur of the Working Group of Intergovernmental Experts on the Human Rights of Migrants created by the Commission on Human Rights from 1996 to 1999. The Working Group recommended the creation of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, having identified the need for a monitoring and protection mechanism.

 

 

NEWS FROM ACROSS THE EU

·      Austria EU presidency to focus on social affairs

Europe's social model, the controversial working time directive and trying to make the bloc's workforce more flexible, are to be major themes during Austria's EU presidency at the beginning of next year. Read more

 

·      Deporting Muslim clerics: lessons from Europe

Deportations of Muslim clerics for ‘speech crimes’ by European countries have set back community relations and led to serious human rights violations, says a new report by the Institute of Race Relations on the ‘Integration Debate’ in Europe. Read more

 

·      UK: New security measures are a serious attack on human rights

Amnesty International also condemned new measures, proposed on 24 August by the UK government, targeting non-nationals considered to be threatening public order, national security and the rule of law, violate basic human rights and the UK's international obligations. Read more: in English / in French

Meanwhile, the racist backlash after the July London attacks goes on. Read more

 

 

ROMA ISSUES

·      Learning from the Past: A Critical Look at Policy Experience and the Prospects for the Roma Decade

This series of three articles looks into the issue of the subject of the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-2015). Valeriu Nicolae, Deputy Director of the European Roma Information Office (ERIO) contributed with a critical article entitled “The Decade of Roma Inclusion - Between Hopes, Glitches and Failures.” The two other papers highlight strategic lessons for those involved in the Roma Decade. Eben Friedman of the European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI) reviews the experience of the Slovak Government Plenipotentiary for Romani Communities and Martina Kubánová of the Slovak Governance Institute (SGI) highlights the flawed monitoring and evaluation of Roma-related policies in Slovakia. Read the three articles (English only)

 

·      Monitoring project on access to education for Roma

The latest EUMAP (EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program) monitoring project focuses on access to education for Roma and is undertaken in cooperation with the Open Society Institute's Education Support Program (ESP) and the Roma Participation Program (RPP). It will culminate in a series of reports covering Roma education in each of the eight countries involved in the Roma Decade: Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Republic of Macedonia, Slovakia, Romania, and Serbia and Montenegro. More information (English only)

 

·      Anti-Roma racism developments in Romania

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) on 26 August sent a letter to the Romanian Prime Minister, urging him to take action against a recent outburst of racist speech in Romanian media. The recent announcement by the European Court of Human Rights of two judgments concerning the 1993 pogrom in the village of Hadareni, and subsequent measures by the authorities taken against the perpetrators of the pogrom, have been seized upon as an opportunity by a number of politicians and journalists to launch verbal attacks against Roma in Romania, significantly degrading the public space. Read more

 

·      Third Roma Film Festival ‘Golden Wheel’

The third Roma Festival of TV and radio programs will take place in Skopje, Macedonia, in November 2005. The 4-day manifestation is dedicated to the production of media on Roma culture worldwide. This year, the Festival is focused on what has been called the 'Roma Decade 2005- 2015'. It aims to promote the Decade and the activities that will be a part of the next ten years. Read more

 

 

CONFERENCES, MEETINGS & EVENTS

·      Advanced Seminar: Combating Discrimination on the Grounds of Race, Ethnic Origin, Religion and Belief. Towards Effective Test Case Strategies

Date and venue: 31 October-1 November 2005, Maastricht

Organisers: European Institute of Public Administration, in cooperation with
Maastricht University, Faculty of Law.

One of the main aims of this seminar, which is a follow-up to a two-week Summer School in June 2005, is to provide the participants with a profound knowledge of the concepts and the working of the Race Directive and the Framework Employment Directive as regards grounds of discrimination related to race, ethnic origin, religion and belief. The seminar is designed to offer lawyers, legal advisers to NGOs, civil servants and judges who are already familiar with the content and concepts of the Directives, direct insights into possible litigation strategies, national implementations and legal problems. The seminar will also address the most recent developments regarding the implementation of the Directives in Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, Germany and Hungary. Read more

 

 

PUBLICATIONS

·      CEPSearch - Search Engine for European Policy Research

The new CEPSearch engine allows you to find academic papers and publications on EU policy, sorted by policy area and research criteria. It comprising the content of:
the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Changing Landscape of European Liberty and Security, Climate Strategies, European Credit Research Institute, European Liberty and Security, European Network of Agricultural and Rural Policy Research Institutes, European Network of Economic Policy Research Institutes, European Policy Institutes Network, and the European Security Forum.

Go to CEPSearch