Accommodation and housing difficulties of Roma families within the Czech Republic
http://euyouthspeak.org/roma/?p=7196
Many families within the Czech Republic remain living in substandard accommodation characterised by inadequate infrastructure and services, segregation, disease and threat of eviction, often leading to a form of ghettoization. Commonly, Roma communities live in housing which lacks proper sewage facilities, with cramped living quarters, and no access to clean water, electricity or emergency services. Living in conditions which are not legally sanctioned leaves the Roma community more susceptible to forced evictions by the state, a problem which is reflected in the number of resettlements in recent years. A recent study commissioned by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, carried out by the private company GAC, reported that there were 310 socially excluded Roma localities and that 35% of these had emerged in the last 10 years.
The practice of forced evictions and resettlements of Roma communities sees Roma families forced from their original homes to other parts of the country, resulting in the population becoming more segregated and isolated, as well as exacerbating their low employment prospects. One example of such resettlement was the high profile relocation of the Roma community in Mladá Boleslav, which saw a population of around 3,000 Roma diminish to around 300. Similarly, the resettlement of Romani families from the town of Vsetín saw 50 families ordered out of the city on the basis that their current accommodation was substandard, and that most of the families had outstanding rent. Accommodation in neighboring localities failed to meet even basic needs such as water and electricity, leading to the creation of new ghettos rather than resolving any housing problems.
Discriminatory practices also exist within the states allocation of housing, with Roma families often being placed in accommodation referred to as ‘apartments of the lowest quality’, or ‘bare walled’ apartments, generally reserved for those with overdue rent. Over 50% of ‘bare walled’ apartments are lived in by Roma, with this figure raising to 90% in some areas. There is no transparency in the provision of housing owned by the municipalities, and the criterion is often indirectly discriminatory, meaning that Romani families are often unable to obtain adequate housing. A study carried out by the Czech Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs produced results demonstrating that the number of Roma in sub-standard accommodation had risen over the last 10 years, and found that no comprehensive programme to combat social deprivation existed.
Amnesty internationals 2008 international report stated that housing departments within the Czech Republic are primarily interested in financial aspects of housing, grossly neglecting their civic duty and functioning instead as a private corporation with no accountability to the socially needy in the field of housing. It further criticises the inability of social workers to prevent the forced evictions of families with children, which it reports is widespread practice in todays Czech Republic. Similarly, The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has expressed its concern that Czech law fails to clearly prohibit racial discrimination in the right to housing, and the Human Rights Committee has criticised the practice of evictions along with the existence of Roma ghettos across the Czech Republic.
In a joint statement in October 2007, on the housing rights of Roma within Europe, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Un Rapporteur for housing rights, stated that the Czech Republic was in violation of the right to housing in regard to Roma Communities, criticising local public offices for supporting intolerance of Roma and for developing a public policy for the removal of Roma families from cities to isolated areas. The statement indicates that in recent years the rate of forced evictions of Roma has grown dramatically and that segregation and ghettoization in the housing field appear to have intensified.
The issue of finding adequate accommodation not only has significance in its own right, but also has a substantial impact on the attainment of other basic human rights and freedoms, such as the right to privacy, freedom from degrading treatment, education, employment, health, freedom of movement etc. The right to adequate housing, as well as these other rights, are found in major international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Revised European Social Charter. Other UN treaties, as well as the European Convention on Human Rights and other EU legislation relating to discrimination are also relevant.
There is then a clear basis for the enforcement of the right to housing, and an apparent need amongst the Czech Roma community to have such rights better protected and enforced. The general goal of the project will be to work towards recognition of these rights for the Roma population and to see improvements in the living conditions of Roma within the Czech Republic. More specifically, the project will focus on accessing and enforcing legal remedies to families who have been subjected to housing discrimination and forced eviction. With the lack of legal aid and representation offered to the Roma community, the project will focus on providing legal representation and advice to affected families, with the aim of ensuring compliance with international standards for non-discrimination in the allocaztion of housing provided by the municipalities, as well as promoting security of tenure for vulnerable groups and accessing due remedies for those affected by such treatment. Such action will help enforce Roma housing rights and potentially encourage the development of a public policy which ensures compliance with international standards.
By Elizabeth Sarah Jones – currently on internship at DZENO
The Romani Way 