Vezi raport EN

The issue of discrimination in Romania as reflected by international reports

The narrative became viral on social media.          that “Roma are currently in an extreme situation,       A group of human rights NGOs voiced their
One leading political sciences researcher and        especially in terms of the risk of racial hatred        concerns about the Roma minority becoming
professor was sanctioned by the National             fuelled by the media and the online environment.        a scapegoat of the pandemic, quoting cases of
Council for Combatting Discrimination                The Agency submitted a series of complaints to          alleged abusive behaviour by the Police, as well
for distributing an image with racist content,       the National Council for Combatting Dis-                as many situations of discriminatory discourse
related to the Țăndărei case.                        crimination but they highlight that “the online         and hate speech in mass-media articles and
                                                     environment continues to promote defamatory             statements of public persons.
Closure of schools                                   articles and posts that contribute to creating a
                                                     negative image of Roma, especially those returning      Another group of civic NGOs expressed solidarity
In Romania, all schools were closed for the period   from abroad, considered as the main culprits for        with the Roma community, showing several sit-
of March-September 2020, a measure enacted by        the spread of the virus in Romania”.                    uations when the local public authorities and/or
the Government Decision on declaring the state                                                               mass-media have used racist arguments against

of alert, and implemented through Order of the       The FRA material mentions that the National             poor communities affected by the pandemic. The
Minister of Education. All students, including       Council for Combatting Discrimination                   case of the city of Țăndărei is a vivid example
university students, completed the 2019-2020         sanctioned four discriminatory or hate statements       of the problem. The city was placed in quar-
academic year using distance learning over the       against Roma during the state of emergency,             antine after a spike in the number of Covid-19
Internet. The provision was criticized by re-        including: a local newspaper, a member of the           cases. Immediately, the mass-media incorrectly
searchers, UNICEF, and civil society, because it     Parliament, a former president of Romania, and          blamed the local Roma community, a situation
discriminates against children from socioeconom-     a university professor.                                 mentioned by Roma activists, by the president
ically disadvantaged backgrounds, because they                                                               of the National Council for Combatting
do not have the necessary equipment and access       In Romania, the prejudices against Roma are             Discrimination, or even by more neutral
to Internet. All critical voices are mentioning      surfacing in the time of emergency, according           media reports.
Roma among the most disadvantaged groups.            to human rights activists and specialists. In
                                                     an interview in media, the president of                 Video footage of policemen shouting at a group

Negative public reactions targeting                  the National Council for Combatting                     of rounded-up Roma men lying on the ground
Roma and Travellers                                  Discrimination speaks about the rise of                 while an officer repeatedly beats one of them has
                                                     hate speech and racism targeting Roma in                outraged human rights activists. The involved
In Romania, the National Agency for Roma reported    mass-media and on social networks.                      policemen are investigated by the prosecutors.

                                           ACTIVITY REPORT | 2020                                                                                          59