The Romani Minority in Russia.Pdf

108th CONGRESS Printed for the use of the 2nd Session Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe THE ROMANI MINORITY IN RUSSIA September 23, 2004 Briefing of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe WASHINGTON : 2006 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE 234 FORD HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6460 (202) 225-1901 [email protected] http://www.csce.gov LEGISLATIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS HOUSE SENATE CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado Chairman Co-Chairman FRANK R. WOLF, Virginia SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas JOSEPH R. PITTS, Pennsylvania GORDON H. SMITH, Oregon ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas ANNE M. NORTHUP, Kentucky SAXBY CHAMBLISS, Georgia BENJAMIN L. CARDIN, Maryland CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER, New York BOB GRAHAM, Florida ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida RUSSELL D. FEINGOLD, Wisconsin MIKE McINTYRE, North Carolina HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York EXECUTIVE BRANCH COMMISSIONERS VACANT, Department of State VACANT, Department of Defense WILLIAM HENRY LASH III, Department of Commerce ii ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE The Helsinki process, formally titled the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, traces its origin to the signing of the Helsinki Final Act in Finland on August 1, 1975, by the leaders of 33 European countries, the United States and Canada. As of January 1, 1995, the Helsinki process was renamed the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The membership of the OSCE has expanded to 55 participating States, reflecting the breakup of the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. The OSCE Secretariat is in Vienna, Austria, where weekly meetings of the participating States’ permanent representatives are held. In addition, specialized seminars and meetings are convened in various locations. Periodic consultations are held among Senior Officials, Ministers and Heads of State or Government. Although the OSCE continues to engage in standard setting in the fields of military security, economic and environmental cooperation, and human rights and humanitarian con- cerns, the Organization is primarily focused on initiatives designed to prevent, manage and resolve conflict within and among the participating States. The Organization deploys nu- merous missions and field activities located in Southeastern and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. The website of the OSCE is: <www.osce.org>. ABOUT THE COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, is a U.S. Government agency created in 1976 to monitor and encourage compli- ance by the participating States with their OSCE commitments, with a particular emphasis on human rights. The Commission consists of nine members from the United States Senate, nine members from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce. The positions of Chair and Co-Chair rotate between the Sen- ate and House every two years, when a new Congress convenes. A professional staff assists the Commissioners in their work. In fulfilling its mandate, the Commission gathers and disseminates relevant informa- tion to the U.S. Congress and the public by convening hearings, issuing reports that reflect the views of Members of the Commission and/or its staff, and providing details about the activities of the Helsinki process and developments in OSCE participating States. The Commission also contributes to the formulation and execution of U.S. policy regarding the OSCE, including through Member and staff participation on U.S. Delega- tions to OSCE meetings. Members of the Commission have regular contact with par- liamentarians, government officials, representatives of non-governmental organiza- tions, and private individuals from participating States. The website of the Commission is: <www.csce.gov>. iii THE ROMANI MINORITY IN RUSSIA SEPTEMBER 23, 2004 PARTICIPANTS Page Elizabeth B. Pryor, Senior Advisor, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe ............................................................................................................................... 1 Dr. Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director, European Roma Rights Center .................... 2 Alexander Torokhov, Director, Roma Ural ........................................................................... 5 Leonid Raihman, Consultant, Open Society Institute ......................................................... 7 APPENDICES Prepared Statement of Dr. Dimitrina Petrova .................................................................... 19 Prepared Statement of Alexander Torokhov ....................................................................... 54 Prepared Statement of Leonid Raihman .............................................................................. 58 iv THE ROMANI MINORITY IN RUSSIA SEPTEMBER 23, 2004 COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE WASHINGTON, DC The briefing was held at 11:03 a.m. in Room 2325, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC, Elizabeth B. Pryor, Senior Advisor, Commission on Security and Coop- eration in Europe, moderating. Commission staff present: Elizabeth B. Pryor, Senior Advisor, Commission on Secu- rity and Cooperation in Europe; Erika Schlager, Counsel for International Law, Commis- sion on Security and Cooperation in Europe; and John Finerty, Staff Advisor, Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. Witnesses present: Dr. Dimitrina Petrova, Executive Director, European Roma Rights Center; Alexander Torokhov, Director, Roma Ural; and Leonid Raihman, Consultant, Open Society Institute. Ms. PRYOR. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m Elizabeth Pryor, and I serve as the senior advisor to the Helsinki Commission. And I’m going to be chairing the briefing today. This is a very busy day on Capitol Hill, a rather historic meeting that’s going on right now with both the House of Representatives and the Senate with the interim Prime Min- ister of Iraq. So we’re hoping that we’ll be joined by several of our Commissioners this morning. And we’ll welcome them as they come into the room. The Helsinki Commission has a long record of concern for the human rights of Roma in the OSCE region going back to the early 1990s and the pogroms against Roma in Roma- nia. We have also supported over the years the development of substantive commitments by the OSCE participating states that address the human rights situation of Roma. Last year we also encouraged the OSCE participating States to adopt an action plan on Roma and Sinti that would both reflect the real problems that Roma faced and we hope will create wider opportunities for the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to address some of these problems. We don’t have copies of that outside, but you can get it on the OSCE Web site, which is http://www.osce.org. And we do have some material about the action plan outside that also has some of the links where you can get the larger plan. It’s a long document, 50 pages, so we weren’t able to put it out. We’ve also long followed the human rights developments in Russia. Two years ago we convened a briefing of the subject of intolerance in contemporary Russia. Russia is the OSCE’s second largest country with a very diverse population. 1 Unfortunately as our witnesses suggested 2 years ago, the Roma in Russia are a par- ticularly vulnerable minority. And since they constitute a relatively small part of the Rus- sian population, their plight is often overlooked. Today we hope to remedy that with a more in-depth examination of their situation in the Russian Federation. We are fortunate to have with us today Dimitrina Petrova, the executive director of the European Roma Rights Center, which is the leading human rights advocacy group on Roma issues in Europe today. Among other achievements, the ERRC has played an in- strumental role in bringing the first successful cases on behalf of Romani plaintiffs to the European Court of Human Rights. We are also joined by Alexander Torokhov, the director of Roma Ural, a non-governmental organization based in Yekaterinburg to protect the rights of Roma in the Urals region, integrate them into Russian society and preserve Romani culture. Our third witness will be Leonid Raihman. Mr. Raihman is a consultant for the Open Society Institute. He has extensive experience working on minority issues in the former Soviet Union, including in his native Latvia. So we give you all a very warm welcome and thank you very much for taking the time to be with us today. We’re going to start with Ms. Petrova. And I will give the floor to you, and we’ll give the floor to all of our witnesses today in turn. And then we’ll open it up for questions. So, Ms. Petrova, you have the floor. Ms. PETROVA. Thank you. Madam Chairperson, ladies and gentlemen, European Roma Rights Center monitoring of Roma rights in Russia has revealed alarming patterns of human rights abuse of Roma and other people perceived as Gypsies. We have sent in advance of this hearing a 36-page document, which is available outside detailing a small part of our findings. We are working on the publication in a few months time of a larger report on Roma in Russia. First, let me address the question why is the theme of today’s hearing important for human rights. Is it appropriate at all to single out the Roma and highlight their problems if Russia is home to approximately

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