[hr-education] Croatian Deputy Ombudsman under pressure for condemning racial segregation in Croatian primary schools

October 14, 2003

Over the past several years, Ms. Marta Vidakovic Mukic, Croatian Deputy
Ombudsman, has consistently and with a high degree of professional
integrity condemned the widespread practice of racial segregation of
Romani pupils within Croatian primary schools. Instead of prompting
appropriate government action to remedy the situation, her work has placed
her under increasing pressure, especially in recent months, from both the
Medjimurje County local government/parliament and other "concerned"  
individuals/groups, which have suggested that her activities are damaging
to the "country's reputation abroad" and even requested her removal from
office. The European Roma Rights Center (ERRC) protests such
harassment/intimidation and appeals to the Croatian central government and
civil society alike to stand up in defense of the Deputy Ombudsman's right
and obligation to report the facts as they are, and request redress for
those whose rights have been violated.

Many Romani children in Croatia, primarily in Medjimurje County, attend
segregated Roma-only classes in what are otherwise "regular" primary
schools. Their placement in such schools is a result of racial
discrimination by officials at the schools concerned, expressing the
dominating and pervasive anti-Romani sentiment of the local non-Romani
community. The teaching syllabus for the pupils attending separate
Roma-only classes is significantly reduced in scope and volume compared to
the standard curriculum in Croatia. As a result of segregating practices,
the opportunities available to graduates of such classes to secure
adequate employment in the future are jeopardized. Additionally, Romani
children in such classes are stigmatized with the effects of diminished
self-esteem and feelings of humiliation as a result of being forced to
study in racially segregated classrooms denying them the benefits of a
multi-cultural educational environment. Official government statistics
show that at the county level, almost 60% of all Romani pupils attend
separate Roma-only classes. In addition, in at least one of the schools in
Medjimurje County, more than 88% of all Romani children in the school are
victims of racial segregation.

The severity of issues related to the education of Romani children in
Croatia has been recognised by international review agencies. For example,
in its Concluding Observations of 21 May 2002 on Croatia's compliance with
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
"expresse[d] concern at the continued practice of segregation of Roma
children within the educational system ... [and recommended that Croatian
authorities] pay particular attention to the situation of the Roma and
take effective measures to prevent [their] segregation ....". Legal
complaints on behalf of Romani children segregated in Croatian schools are
currently pending before the Croatian Constitutional Court, and a
pre-application letter on the issue has been filed at the European Court
of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

As regards the role and status of the institution of Ombudsman when it
comes to investigating human rights abuse, Paragraph 7(ii) of
Recommendation No. 1615 (2003), adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, provides that an Ombudsman must be "guaranteed
independence ... in particular as regards receipt of complaints, decisions
on whether or not to accept complaints as admissible or to launch
own-initiative investigations, decisions on when and how to pursue
investigations, consideration of evidence, drawing of conclusions,
preparation and presentation of recommendations and reports, and publicity
...".

In view of the violations suffered by numerous Romani children in Croatian
primary schools and the recent pressure on/intimidation of the Deputy
Ombudsman, the ERRC requests comprehensive redress for all Romani victims
of educational segregation, as well as protection of the professional and
personal integrity of Ms. Marta Vidakovic Mukic.

ERRC Senior Staff Attorney Branimir Plese said: "Despite some local views
to the contrary, a country's reputation abroad and domestically must be
earned by effective human rights implementation -- individual or
collective denial will not do."

Further information on the situation of Roma in Croatia is available on:  
http://www.errc.org/publications/indices/croatia.shtml

Further information on the plight of education of Romani children in
Europe is available on:
http://errc.org/publications/positions/education.shtml

_____________________________________________

The European Roma Rights Center is an international public interest law 
organisation which monitors the rights of Roma and provides legal defence 
in cases of human rights abuse. For more information about the European 
Roma Rights Center, visit the ERRC on the web at http://www.errc.org.

European Roma Rights Center
1386 Budapest 62
P.O. Box 906/93
Hungary
Phone: +36 1 4132200
Fax:   +36 1 4132201
_____________________________________________



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